Making It Work
by Heavenli24
Summary: Sequel to The Yule Log.  How will Max and Liz's relationship progress while Max is filming in England? And what will happen when Max has to return to his life in LA?
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Making It Work

**Author**: Heavenli24

**Pairings/Couples/Category**: M/L

**Rating**: ADULT

**Disclaimer**: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Sequel to The Yule Log. How will Max and Liz's relationship progress while Max is filming in England? And what will happen when Max has to return to his life in LA?

* * *

**Part One**

"Mmm," sighed Liz sleepily, as she felt his body shift beneath her, making a move to get up, "don't go."

"I have to," came his soft, whispered tone close to her ear. "I'm sorry."

"No," she mumbled with a pout, tightening her arm around his bare torso in an attempt to prevent him from leaving.

She opened her eyes to find him gazing down at her, his expression a mixture of both amusement and regret.

"Liz, I have to be on set in an hour," he reasoned, "and I can't be late."

"Yeah, you can," she insisted, shifting in the bed so that her body was flush against his, her bare breasts pressing against his chest, her legs tangling with his as she let her foot slide up and down his calf suggestively.

"No, I can't," he repeated, more firmly this time.

She just raised an eyebrow and smirked up at him evocatively.

"And stop that," he scolded, placing his hands on her waist and urging her away from him when she rolled her hips against his provocatively. "I mean it."

She tried to stare him down, but when it became obvious a few moments later that he was not going to back down, she let out a sigh and rolled onto her back.

"Fine," she exhaled in defeat. "Go."

Max rolled his eyes, raising himself up onto one elbow so he could look down at her, "You know I would stay if I could, but if I don't show up to work on time, I'll get fired and I'll have to go back to LA."

"I know, I know," agreed Liz, "but it doesn't mean I have to like the fact that we only get to see each other for a few hours at a time, a couple of days a week."

"It's not ideal, I know, but it's better than nothing, right?" asked Max, as he stroked her bare arm with his fingers, sending shivers down her spine.

"Yeah, I guess it is," she smiled up at him, her heart swelling with emotion as she remembered how lucky she was to have him in her life at all, even if it was only a few hours at a time, a couple of days a week.

A soft smile graced his lips and she watched with baited breath as he lowered his mouth toward hers. Their lips met in a kiss that began soft and gentle, but quickly escalated into fervent and passionate.

"Okay, I really have to go," breathed Max, when they parted for air.

"Okay," she conceded reluctantly, letting her fingers run through his thick, dark hair, before dropping down to the mattress as he sat up and climbed out of her bed.

Biting her lip, she watched as he stood up and reached for his clothes. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she took in the way his lean muscles rippled with every movement he made. Her gaze roamed his muscular back before lowering to the delicious curve of his tight butt and then dropping to his strong thighs.

God, she wished he didn't have to leave so early in the morning. He'd only made it to her flat just before one a.m. and now, barely six hours later, he had to leave again. It just wasn't fair. Was this how their relationship was going to be from now on…a couple of hours of sex in the middle of the night every now and then, whenever he had the time to see her? That wasn't a real relationship, or a particularly healthy one, for that matter. Of course, those occasional few hours together were better than no hours at all, but still, Liz felt like she was missing out on the real thing.

She mustered a smile as Max shot her a grin over his shoulder before heading into the bathroom, but inside she felt a tiny bit miserable. Perhaps this arrangement was all right for now, but eventually she would want more than she thought Max would be able to give with his hectic schedule and Hollywood lifestyle.

"Okay," announced Max a few moments later, as he reappeared in her bedroom and grabbed his wallet and cell phone, before sitting down on the edge of the bed and cupping her cheek in his hand. "I gotta go."

"Okay," Liz nodded.

He lowered his lips to hers once more for a brief, but meaningful kiss, pulling away before it had the chance to get out of control.

"I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure," she nodded again. "Have a good day."

"You too," he returned with a smile, before sliding off the bed and reaching for his jacket which was draped over a chair against the wall. "And I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?"

"Yeah," she forced a smile.

He headed for the bedroom door and she made a move to get up so she could walk him out.

"No, don't," he held up a hand. "You stay there and get some more rest before work. I can see myself out."

"But–"

"No, buts," he scolded. "If you try to walk me to the door in nothing but a sheet, I'll never leave."

Before she had time to reply, he'd walked out of the bedroom and to the front door of her flat. She shook her head and let her head flop back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling as she heard the door slam shut behind him. How was she going to survive the next few days without him?

* * *

As soon as he'd left her flat, Max came to a stop in front of her door, leaning against the dark wood as he let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. It had only been three weeks since they'd started meeting on the nights when he had a few hours of free time, yet on each occasion it was getting harder and harder for him to leave her in the morning.

It wasn't an ideal situation, only being able to see her a couple of nights per week, but with his hectic filming schedule and her nine-to-five job, it was the best they could do right now. Of course he wanted to be able to spend more time with her, at a decent hour of the day, but if a few stolen hours in the middle of the night was all they had, then he would definite make the most of it.

And of course, he wasn't going to think about what would happen in a couple of months' time, when filming on his movie was done and his work permit ran out, meaning he had to return to California – no, he wasn't going to think about the future yet, he was going to live in the moment, at least for now.

* * *

"You're in a good mood today," observed Maria, as Liz breezed into the warm coffee shop with a huge smile on her face. Maria narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Did you get some last night?"

"Maria!" exclaimed Liz, her eyes widening at her friend's bluntness as she slid off her coat and placed it on the back of the chair next to Maria.

"Aww, come on, Liz. It's about time you spilled the beans on this new guy you met over Christmas. You haven't even told me his name yet, for God's sake."

Liz sighed, taking a seat and reaching for the small menu on the table in front of her. It wasn't that she didn't want to confide in Maria about her relationship with Max, but at the same time she kind of wanted to keep it to herself for now, especially considering Max's celebrity status.

"I know I haven't and I'm sorry," she began, "but it's new and I don't want to jinx anything, so for now, I'm keeping the details to myself, okay?"

Maria just watched her for a moment, before finally rolling her eyes, "Fine, you win. For now. But don't think I'm not gonna get it out of you eventually."

"How about a chocolate-chip muffin? My treat," Liz changed the subject quickly, so as to distract Maria from asking any further questions.

Luckily, her friend got the hint and they spent the next thirty minutes catching up on gossip and arranging to meet up with her and Michael on Saturday for a day of shopping and generally having fun. However, by the time Liz arrived back at work after lunch, her good mood from spending a wonderfully satisfying night with Max and from laughing with Maria was waning. Now that she had nothing to look forward to for the next four hours but a mountain of work, her enthusiasm was dipping. It was back to the grindstone again.

She managed to successfully complete two of her tasks for the afternoon, but not without a serious lack of concentration and efficiency, so when the phone rang at three-thirty, it was a welcome distraction.

"Hello, Liz Parker speaking," she greeted, putting on her best fake-enthusiastic voice.

"Hey gorgeous," came the smooth, warm tone.

A smile lit up her face; it was Max.

"Hey, han… you," she replied with a smile. She'd been about to say 'handsome', but quickly changed her mind when she glanced over at her colleagues, who were looking at her curiously. "What's going on?"

"Well, you know, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since this morning, so I had to call the first chance I got," he replied. Liz's heart did a flip at his words. "And also, I wanted to let you know that I'm now free to come see you Friday night…"

"Really?" grinned Liz as she spoke into the receiver.

"That's not all," he continued. "There've been some problems with the props for the weekend and it turns out that they won't be available until Saturday afternoon… so as a result, I won't be needed on set until at least lunchtime, which means I don't have to leave at the crack of dawn like I did today."

Liz bit her lip in excitement, "That's great… no, wait, it's more than great, it's wonderful! I can't wait."

"Me neither," Max told her.

They continued to speak for a few more minutes, until Liz heard someone calling to Max on the other end of the line and he sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry, I have to go – I'm needed on set," he apologised a moment later. "But I'll see you tomorrow night, okay? I'll give you a call when I'm on my way."

"Yeah, tomorrow," she agreed with a smile, as they said their goodbyes and she hung up the phone with a dreamy sigh.

Maybe this relationship wasn't going to be all that hard to maintain after all.

_TBC…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Max hummed to himself as he got out of the cab, paid the taxi driver and turned to face the four-storey building that housed Liz's apartment. Despite the delay that the props issue had put on the filming schedule, he'd been secretly pleased that it meant he had a few more hours free to spend with her. A grin slid across his face as he approached the front door and pressed the buzzer to her flat.

"'Lo?" came her sweet voice a few seconds later.

"It's me," he spoke into the intercom.

"Hey, Max," she greeted happily, "come on up."

"Thanks."

The door clicked and he let himself in, strolling through the lobby area and then began climbing the two flights of stairs to the second floor. It was strange, he mused, as he made his way to her flat, that what the British called the second floor, was in fact the third floor back home in the States. He reached the second floor, smiling at an older couple heading for the stairs as he passed them, and then heading for Liz's door.

He knocked gently and barely a moment later the door swung open, revealing a sight that took his breath away.

"Wow," he breathed as his gaze roamed Liz's scantily clad frame, his body reacting instantly to the sight of her dressed in a sheer white nightie that barely brushed her thighs and did almost nothing to hide the matching lacy bra and panties set underneath. She looked like a vision, with her long, dark, shiny hair flowing down her back and over her shoulders, a stark contrast to the white barely-there clothing adorning her body.

"You like?" she murmured with a sultry smile, lifting one stiletto-covered foot in the air and running it slowly up and down her calf.

"I –" he swallowed audibly, unable to form words to describe exactly how much he liked it.

She smirked, biting her lip sensually as she gaze up at him with hooded eyes.

"Come here," she commanded then with a smile, reaching out to grab his shirt and pull him inside the flat, pushing the door shut with her foot.

"God, I –" was all Max could manage before he gave in, dropping his bag, sliding his arms around her waist and pressing his lips to hers urgently.

He felt her hands slide up his chest and under his jacket, easing it over his shoulders and down his arms. He let go of her briefly in order to dispose of the offending article, letting it fall to the floor, before firmly clasping her waist once more. His hands roamed her back and he could feel the heat of her skin through the flimsy material of her nightie. It made him shudder with anticipation. While he revelled in the warmth of her petite body as they kissed, Liz was making quick work of his clothes, her hands now slipping beneath his dark T-shirt, her fingers tracing patterns on his hot skin as she slid the material upwards.

They broke apart, breathing heavily and gazing down into each other's eyes, as Liz pulled the T-shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor unceremoniously before running her hands from his shoulders, down his chest and over his well-muscled stomach to the waistline of his jeans.

"Liz," breathed Max, her fingers played across his skin, occasionally dipping tantalisingly beneath the material of his jeans and then reaching for his buckle. She unfastened it quickly and pulled down his zipper before reaching in and cupping him with one hand as the other slid around to caress his lower back.

He sucked in a breath at the feel of her hand on him, gently squeezing through his boxers. Her lips met his shoulder, nipping gently at his warm skin, before kissing a sizzling trail across his collarbone to the other side. In response to her amorous gestures, he slid his hands beneath the material of her short nightie letting them roam her flawless lower back briefly before moving them downwards to cup her lace-covered bottom. She moaned against his skin as he pressed her lower body to his, trapping her hand between their bodies.

"God, Max," she murmured softly, lifting her head to look into his eyes. She removed her other hand from his back, slid her arm around his neck once more and shifting her upper body so that her lace-covered breasts pressed against his chest. "I need you."

"I need you too," he breathed, before lowering his hands from her butt to the back of her thighs. She eased her hand away and then eagerly jumped up, wrapping her smooth legs around his hips and he turned around, pressing her up against the front door as he captured her lips with his in a passionate, frenzied embrace.

Once he was sure that she was fully supported between himself and the wall, he allowed his hands to slide up her sides, over the soft material of the nightie until he reached her perfectly formed breasts. He cupped her gently, running his thumbs across her rapidly hardening nipples and watched as her eyes closed and her head fell back against the door.

He smiled down at her flushed face and walked the fingers of one hand back down over her stomach towards her panties. Sliding the loose material of the nightie up to her waist, he traced her soft skin with his fingers for a moment before slipping them beneath the lacy material, lower and lower until he encountered her wet heat.

"Oh, God," she gasped, her back arching as he stroked her intimately. Her legs tightened around his waist and his hips rocked in response, wanting to get closer, wanting to be inside her.

However, he continued is ministrations, wanting to see the beautiful expression on her face when she was in the throes of passion. His fingers caressed her sensitive clit, gently at first, but getting faster as her breathing became heavier and she began to move her hips in time with his strokes. As she approached orgasm, he lowered his head to her breasts, teasing each one with his mouth, not ceasing the movement of his hand. Her arms came up around his neck, holding onto him tightly as she arched against him, trying out as his fingers finally tipped her over the edge. She came with a desperate cry, her legs tightening around him, her chest pressed against his mouth as she rode out the waves of pleasure.

Max removed his hand from her panties and slid his arms around her back, supporting her as she came down from her peak. She buried her head in his shoulder as her breathing began to return to normal.

"Wow," she sighed happily against his ear. "That was… wow."

"We're not done yet, sweetie," he murmured, urging her to lift her head. He smiled down at her as he brushed her hair, now damp with sweat, back from her face.

He lowered his head and brushed her lips with his as his rolled his hips against her, causing her to buck against him in response.

"Do you have protection?" he asked then, "I have some, but they're in my bag… which is all the way down there." He glanced down at the floor.

"You're in luck" she grinned, raising an eyebrow. "I just happen to have something tucked in my bra."

"Your –?" he was about to ask why she would want to keep a condom in her bra in the first place, but quickly decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Okay," he nodded as she reached in and pulled out the small, square packet.

Max moved to take it from her, but she shook her head, "No, let me."

He let out a rush of air as she lowered her hands, pushed his jeans down over his hips a little and then reached in to free him from the confines of his boxers. Quickly, she tore open the packet and rolled the condom into place. Then she moved her hands to her panties and pulled the thin material aside.

They each let out a gasping moan as Max entered her gently. He gave her a moment to get used to the feel of him, before he began to move his hips in a steady rhythm, his hands lowering to her waist so he could guide her movements to match his. As their lovemaking became more intense and his trusts became more powerful, he shifted his hands so that one was supporting her back, while he braced the other against the door, above her head.

"Look at me," he requested urgently, gazing down at her lovely features. Her eyes were closed and she was biting her lip, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Please."

Her eyes fluttered open and he smiled down at her tenderly. Their gazed remained locked as Max increased his pace, the tension between them building steady as they each neared their peak. Liz was the first to let go, her inner muscles tightening deliciously around him as the orgasm swept through her body and she cried out his name over and over again. The sight of her in the throes of orgasm was enough to send him over the edge too and he came with a cry just a few short moments later. He gathered her up in his arms, smoothing her hair and pressing kisses to her face and neck as they came down from the high together.

Eventually, when their breathing had slowed, Max pulled back to look down at Liz with an indulgent grin on his face, "Hi."

She let out a soft giggle, "Hi."

"Well, this was a nice greeting," he teased.

"Only nice?"

"Okay, maybe 'nice' isn't the word," he mused. "How about 'wonderful,' 'breathtaking,' 'incredible'?"

"That's better," she nodded happily and they shared a kiss. "So, how was your day?" she asked when they parted.

"No," he shook his head, "no small talk tonight. Tonight I just want to spend hour upon hour ravishing your perfect body like there's no tomorrow. We can talk in the morning. Come on, let's go to bed," he suggested, walking them towards her bedroom.

Once inside, he placed her down on the bed, so he could kick off his jeans and boxers before he went about divesting her of that sexy outfit. As he did so, she reach down to remove her stiletto heels, but Max placed his hand over hers, stopping her.

"No, don't," he murmured as he climbed onto the bed and began his ministrations on her body. "Leave them on."

_TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

Max yawned, rubbing one hand over his face as he pried open his eyes and came face to face with Liz, who was sleeping peacefully at his side. He smiled softly as he took in her lovely features and, careful not to disturb her, he reached out his fingers and stroked the soft skin of her warm cheek.

"Mmm," she moaned, turning her face slightly to nuzzle his hand as her eyes fluttered open.

"Morning," he greeted, getting lost in her dark, sleep-filled eyes.

"Hmm, morning," she mumbled, shifting her body closer to his and meeting his lips in a kiss.

"Sleep well?" he asked when they parted.

"Definitely. You?"

"Like a log," his eyes twinkled as he waited for her reply.

"Real or chocolate?" she grinned, repeating the words she'd used that morning at New Years. He chuckled.

"Come here, you," he announced suddenly, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.

He rolled them so she was lying beneath him and gazed down at her for a moment, taking her in, before giving into temptation and ravaging her passionately.

Thirty minutes later, they lay side by side on their backs, thoroughly satisfied from an energetic round of early-morning lovemaking.

"Wow," breathed Liz. "That was…"

"Yeah," agreed Max wholeheartedly.

"I'd better go take a shower," stated Liz a moment later, as she made a move to sit up. "It's getting late and we only have a few hours until you have to leave. I want to spend some time with you before you go."

Max frowned, puzzled, "Well, what exactly are we doing now? This looks like spending time together to me."

Liz pushed against his shoulder playfully, "I meant quality time, you know, to talk and stuff… without being naked."

"Fine," Max shook his head with a smile. "You go shower. I'm gonna try and fix us some breakfast."

"Okay, great," she smiled, giving his lips a quick peck before climbing out of bed and walking naked to the bathroom.

Max watched her go before smiling happily to himself and then reluctantly getting out of bed too. He reached for his boxers, which were lying on the floor and pulled them on, before running a hand through his hair and heading towards the kitchen.

However, when he got there, he froze, just standing helplessly in the middle of the small kitchen. Despite several late-night visits to Liz's flat, he'd never actually spent any of that time preparing food and suddenly the thought of it was daunting. Not only did he not know where anything was kept, but also he vaguely remembered from staying with the Parkers' at Christmas, that the cooking utensils, measuring quantities and even the food itself was slightly different here.

After a few moments of contemplating his options, he eventually decided to just open and close cupboard doors until he found something he could use. However, just as he'd finally managed to locate a frying pan, spatula and a jug and had discovered where the eggs and milk were in the fridge, the sound of the doorbell interrupted him. He glanced quickly towards the bathroom door, but he could still hear the water running. Liz was still in the shower, so what should he do? Did he open the door to whoever it was or did he just leave it and hope they went away. The decision was made for him, however, when a female voice shouted through the door.

"Oi, Liz are you in there or what? Come on, open up!"

Looking toward the bathroom once more, Max decided that he'd better just answer the door. He had a feeling that this woman wasn't going to give up and leave that easily. He made his way to the door, briefly looking down at his attire of only boxer shorts in embarrassment, before turning the handle and opening it.

"Well, it's about time, Lizzie," huffed an annoyed voice as a small, blonde woman bustled into the flat. "What's with you today? I've been standing out there for – Oh My Lord!"

Max clocked the exact second that she noticed him standing there instead of Liz.

"Um, hi?" he greeted sheepishly, but the woman simply stood there in front of him, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Liz?" she called frantically a moment later. "Liz? Liz?"

The door of the bathroom suddenly opened and Liz appeared, a large, fluffy towel wrapped around her body, her wet hair draped around her shoulders and a smaller towel in her hand.

"What? What is it?" she asked quickly, stopping suddenly as she took in the scene before her: Max standing in the middle of the room in nothing but boxers and her friend Maria a few feet away looking completely shell-shocked as her eyes shifted between Max and Liz. "Maria, hi. What are you doing here? And how did you get up here?"

"Wh-what am I doing here?" she stuttered. "Lizzie, I thought we had plans for this morning? And for your information, one of your neighbours held the door open for me."

Max watched, as Liz looked first at the girl called Maria, then at him and then down to the floor guiltily.

"Maria, I'm so sorry," she apologised. "Something came up," her eyes slid to him again and he had to suppress a smirk. "And our plans completely slipped my mind."

"Something came up, huh?" Maria raised an eyebrow and Max looked down self-consciously as she eyed him speculatively. "I bet I can guess what that was."

"Look, it wasn't Max's fault, it was mine, okay? I'm sorry," Liz apologised again.

"Max?" wondered Maria as she looked at him again. "So it is you? Max Evans, the film star, right?"

"Um, yeah," Max crossed his arms over his chest, feeling rather exposed. "That's me."

He sighed in relief when he spotted his discarded T-shirt from last night lying on the floor and quickly reached down and grabbed it, slipping it over his head.

Maria nodded faintly, "So, tell me, Liz, how exactly is it possible that Max Evans himself could be half-naked in your flat on a Saturday morning?"

"Well, I, um…" Liz started uncomfortably.

"Wait," interrupted Maria, "is this the reason you've been all secretive about your love life the last few weeks? Because your new boyfriend is a Hollywood star?"

Liz shrugged sheepishly.

Maria was silent for a moment, before, "Wow, this is so unreal."

Liz glanced at Max and gave him a smile, which he returned, "Yeah."

"I'm Maria Deluca, by the way," she held out her hand to him. "Nice to meet you."

"Max Evans," he confirmed, reaching out to shake her hand.

"Hey, what's taking you ladies so fucking long?" came another voice from outside the door, a male voice this time, an American one in fact. "I'm parked on double yellows down there."

"Just a minute, okay?" Maria snapped at the door, but the guy was already inside.

"I swear to God, Maria–" he started, but stopped as soon as he saw Max.

Max himself was surprised at the guy's sudden appearance, but as he got a better look at him, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

The other guy just stood there for a moment, staring at him, before a smirk appeared on his lips and he nodded, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Max 'Movie Star' Evans himself! What the hell are you doing here?"

Max's own lips curled up into a smile, "Michael Guerin, long time, no see. I could ask you the same thing."

"Man, it's been a long time," agreed Michael, as he approached Max and they gave each other a manly hug and pat on the back. "I hear you're making the big bucks these days."

Max opened his mouth to reply, but Maria beat him to it.

"Hang on a minute, what the hell is going on here? You two know each other?"

"I was wondering the same thing," spoke up Liz from across the room.

Michael stepped back and grinned at Max, who took it upon himself to explain.

"Michael and I grew up together back home in Roswell. He, Isabel Ramirez and I were close friends, but we lost touch after high school, when Isabel and I moved out to LA," he revealed. He looked to Michael, "Never thought I'd see you again, man, but here you are in London – this is insane."

Michael shook his head, "Not as insane as you turning up half-naked in my girlfriend's best friend's flat, thousands of miles from your home. Care to explain that one?"

Max shrugged, "I'm in London because I'm making a movie here."

"Okay," Michael nodded, "but that doesn't explain the part where you're apparently sleeping with Liz."

"Do you remember the British couple who lived opposite my house in Roswell when we were kids?" he began

Michael thought for a moment, "Yeah, I do, but what does that have to do with Liz?"

"That couple was Mr and Mrs Parker – they're Liz's parents."

"Really?" murmured Michael, glancing over at Liz for a moment.

"They moved back home to England when we were five, but my mom stayed in touch with Liz's mom over the years and when they found out I'd be in the UK, the Parkers' invited me to stay with them for Christmas. Liz and I met there… and well, we've been seeing each other for a few weeks."

"Okay," Michael took this in, before finally giving Max a nod and a smile. "Wow, that's cool, man."

He and Michael spent the next few minutes catching up on life and exchanging phone numbers, until Maria cleared her throat and suggested that they ought to make a move. However, Max realised then that there were only a couple of hours left until he had to leave for the film set and so had to decline Maria's offer for him to join them for the day. He was pleased though, when Liz also declined in favour of spending the time with him, leaving Michael and Maria to spend the day together instead.

Once they had left, Liz went to get dressed, while Max re-attempted his breakfast effort and they spent the rest of the morning curled up together on the couch and catching up on the various happenings in their lives, before Max had to leave to get back to the film set.

* * *

_Liz sighed with pleasure as Max made his way down her body, showering the delicate skin of her stomach with gentle kisses. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her steady beneath him when his mouth reached her most sensitive spot. She gasped, clutching his thick hair between her fingers as his tongue briefly darted out to tease her clit once, twice, before taking it into his mouth and sucking gently. _

"_Oh, God," she moaned, as she felt her stomach muscles contract in response to his ministrations. "Don't stop."_

_Her eyes slid closed and her head fell back against the pillows, her back arching, as his oh-so-talented tongue brought her to orgasm over and over until she collapsed back down onto the mattress in exhaustion, her breathing laboured. _

"_Oh. My. God," she managed breathily, her eyes still closed. Opening them would have taken too much effort._

_She heard Max chuckle from his position between her legs, his breath was warm on her thigh, sending tingles through her whole body. He pressed a gentle kiss to her stomach, just below her belly button, before moving back up her body. He nuzzled her neck before capturing her lips in a long, languid kiss as he settled his hips between her thighs, his arousal pressing against her intimately, the position causing her hips to buck as he brushed her clit._

"_Make love to me, Max," she whispered, folding her arms around his neck, allowing their upper bodies to come into intimate contact._

"_My pleasure, beautiful," he returned with a soft smile._

_Liz sighed as he eased himself into her slowly, the friction causing them both to gasp with pleasure. The tension began to mount once more as Max began moving inside her and she could feel yet another orgasm approaching…_

_

* * *

_

"Oi, Liz, have you been listening to a word I've been saying?" came an annoyed voice from her left, snapping Liz out of her daydream.

"What?" her head shot up in surprise. "Oh, sorry, Steve," she apologised to her co-worker, who was currently standing beside her desk, a cup of coffee in his right hand and a frown on his face. "Did you want something?"

"Liz, I've been trying to discuss this month's issue with you for the last ten minutes, but you don't seem to have heard a word of it," he sighed. "What is the matter with you lately? You've been distracted for weeks."

"Have I?" asked Liz. She frowned, she knew she'd been spending a lot of time thinking about Max the last few weeks, but she hadn't realised that anyone else had noticed her distraction. "I'm really sorry. It's just… there's a lot of stuff going on at the moment – I've had a lot on my mind."

Steve shook his head with a small smile, "It's okay, Liz. We all get distracted sometimes when we're in love."

"What–?" wondered Liz, her head snapping towards him once more, but he was already halfway across the room.

Had she heard him right? She was in love? No, no, she couldn't be, not yet at least. She'd only known Max for a few weeks; surely that wasn't enough time to fall in love.

Right?

* * *

Two hours later, Liz popped down to Pret à Manger to buy a baguette and a chocolate chip muffin for lunch, stopping quickly in the newsagents across the road to pick up the latest issue of _Closer_ magazine before heading back up to the office. Usually she would meet Maria for lunch, but her friend was on a training day in Manchester today and wasn't available, so Liz decided to eat at her desk today instead.

She flicked through the pages of her favourite celebrity gossip magazine as she tucked into her baguette, but as she did so, she wondered what Max would think about her reading it, especially when he knew first-hand how everything got blown out of proportion in magazines such as these. After all, she'd read many a story about him in the past and until she'd actually met him, had almost believed them to be true. The thing was, no matter how much she knew that gossip magazines were just that: gossip, she just couldn't bring herself to stop buying them each week. It was like an addiction.

She turned the page to an exclusive entitled, 'The truth about Katie and Peter's marriage' and although she wasn't particularly a fan of Katie Price, aka 'Jordan', nor of Peter Andre, she couldn't help but read the article. Halfway through, though, her desk phone rang.

"'Lo?" she answered distractedly, her attention still drawn to the words on the page.

"Hey, it's me," came a smooth tone across the line.

"Max?" questioned Liz, taking a quick glance around the office to make sure no one was around; luckily everyone else had already left for lunch, leaving her alone in the room. "What's going on? I thought you had a busy schedule this week?"

There was a slight pause, "Yeah, actually that's kind of what I'm calling about…"

"What's wrong?" she asked, absentmindedly flicking to the next page in the magazine and scanning the content. Her eyes widened and a smile crossed her lips as she read one of the small paragraphs there. "Oh, hey, I didn't know you shopped at Ann Summers… Max, is there something you're not telling me?"

"What?" he questioned, clearly confused. "Liz, what are you talking about?"

"It's right here in my magazine, on the Celebrity Sightings page," she explained, biting her lip in amusement. "Listen, 'Max Evans, of 'Blue Murder' fame, spotted exiting Ann Summers on Oxford Street with a bag of purchases. Is he getting in on some British action while filming on location in London?' So come on, spill; what were you buying?"

There was another pause, "Oh, um, nothing."

"Nothing? Max, you don't buy 'nothing' in a lingerie-slash-adult-entertainment shop," Liz chuckled, enjoying embarrassing him. "Come on, 'fess up."

"Aww, come on, Liz, don't make me say it, it was supposed to be a surprise."

"A surprise? For me?" she perked up.

"No, for the Queen of England," he deadpanned, "of course for you."

"Oh, well, in that case, I'll let it slide for now. But all I can say is that this surprise better be worth it."

"Oh, it will be," he practically purred down the phone.

"I can't wait," she murmured, her mind suddenly spinning with the possibilities.

"Speaking of waiting…" he spoke up then, his tone more serious now. "It might be a while before I can give you your surprise; I have some bad news."

"Oh?" questioned Liz faintly, fearing the worst.

"Yeah, here's the thing: I have to go on location outside London for a while, which means I won't be able to see you again until we're finished there."

"Ok-ay," Liz let that sink in. "And how long is 'a while' exactly?"

"Two weeks, maybe longer," he admitted softly.

"Two weeks?" her face fell. "Really?"

"I'm afraid so," he told her. "And from what I've seen of the filming schedule, it's going to be very busy and gruelling. I don't think I'm going to have any free time to see you."

Inside, Liz's heart sank, but she put on a brave face, "Okay, well I guess I'm just gonna have to be patient for a couple of weeks then."

"I really am sorry," he apologised. "I know this isn't the best, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Hey, it's okay," Liz forced a smile. "I'm sure I can wait a couple of weeks. And you never know, maybe once or twice you'll be able to sneak out for a few hours to see me."

"Maybe, but I doubt it though," he sighed regretfully, "We'll be filming somewhere in Yorkshire, I think."

"Yorkshire?" Liz's face fell once more. "Oh, well, I guess a quick tryst in your filming breaks is definitely out then."

Talk about unfair, she sighed inwardly, Yorkshire was up north, at least three hours' drive from London, maybe more. It was hard enough trying to find time to spend with Max when he was only a few miles away, but it was going to be impossible with him on the other side of the country for the next two weeks.

On the other end, Max chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it is. But I promise, when I get back to London, we'll more than make up for all that time apart."

"What about before you leave?" wondering Liz hopefully. "We'll see each other before you go on location, right?"

"Yeah, um…" Max murmured uncertainly, "honestly, I'm not sure, Liz. We leave on Friday morning and the director's hell-bent on getting several scenes wrapped up before then. I'm gonna do what I can to see you again this week, but I can't guarantee anything, okay?"

"Sure, okay," muttered Liz in disappointment. "Well, if I'm not gonna see you before you go, I'd better wish you good luck now. So, good luck on location, Max."

"Thanks," he replied warmly. "Look I'd better go now, but I'll see what I can do about getting together this week and I promise I'll call you whenever I can while I'm away, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "Bye, Max."

Liz exhaled slowly as she replaced the phone on the receiver, staring at it for a moment as she took in Max's news properly. God, what was happening to her, she wondered? Less than two months ago she was free and single and enjoying life without the ties of a relationship and now… now just the prospect of spending two whole weeks apart from Max Evans was almost too horrid to think about.

Maybe Steve really had been right earlier. Maybe she _was_ falling in love with Max?

_TBC…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four**

"Good work today, Evans," congratulated Jacob Nicholson, patting Max on the back as he walked past him and headed towards the makeshift car park at the edge of the field they were standing in.

"Thanks. You too," he told his British co-star with a tired smile.

They had just finished a long day of on-location shooting out in practically the middle of nowhere and Max was exhausted. It was times like this, when he had to stand out in the cold and rain for hours on end, trying desperately to get that one take right, that he wished he had a normal job… one he could do indoors, where there was heat and comfortable chairs and coffee. As he climbed into the large minibus that would take them back to their temporary accommodations in a small village a few miles away, he sighed, suddenly longing for the warm sunshine and blue sky of California… a far cry from the dismal, windy, cold climate of England in February.

He spent the journey back to the small hotel staring out of the bus window, trying to view the passing countryside as beautiful and quaint, but failing miserably, unable to find much pleasure in anything today. They finally pulled up outside the hotel and he relaxed a little, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and make a certain phone call. However, his co-stars had other ideas and instead dragged him into the small pub across the road for a hot meal and a few beers around the fireplace. The slightly rude banter and joking atmosphere of his mostly British colleagues cheered him up a little, although he only managed a half-hearted contribution to the conversation and after a couple of pints, he made his excuses and headed back to the hotel.

Once in the sanctity of his room, he exhaled loudly, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the closed door. His head was spinning slightly, a mixture of tiredness and the two beers he'd consumed at the pub. He'd learned quickly that British beer was generally stronger than the American stuff and it only really took one or two pints before the alcohol began to affect him.

He shook his head and moved away from the door, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and flopping back onto the bed. He flipped open the phone and scrolled down until he found Liz's number. He pressed the 'call' button and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" came her distracted voice after a couple of rings.

"Hey, it's me," he greeted softly.

"Max, hey!" her tone brightened considerably. "It's good to hear your voice."

Max's expression turned apologetic as he spoke into the phone, "Yeah, sorry, I've barely had a free moment all week; my schedule is terrible right now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "I've been working eighteen-hour days… I've hardly had any time to sleep, let alone do anything else."

"You poor thing," her gentle tone was soothing and it made him smile. "What on Earth can I do to help you relax?" she wondered, her tone suggestive. "You wanna know what I'm wearing?"

Max wanted nothing more than to indulge her, but he was so tired he didn't think he'd be able to stay awake much longer… not to mention the fact that he had to be up at five a.m. for another long, gruelling day of work. He didn't know how his co-stars managed it; staying up drinking until all hours and then working on set all the next day.

"As much as I'd love to know what you are – or maybe aren't – wearing right now, I'm totally exhausted, Liz. I'm sorry," he told her regretfully.

"Oh… well, okay."

He could hear the disappointment in her tone and immediately felt bad. They'd barely gotten the chance to talk to each other in the last week and now, when he did have a free moment call her, he was too tired to make the most of it.

"I really am sorry," he apologised again. "I wish I could do this with you now, but I think I might fall asleep on you and I wanna be totally awake when we're, er… talking."

"Hey, it's okay," she told him and he could hear the smile in her tone. "Get some sleep; we'll talk soon, okay?"

"Okay," he murmured gratefully, his guilt easing a little at hearing her understanding tone. "Thank you."

They spoke for a few more minutes, before saying their goodbyes. As Max hung up the phone, he made a determined decision: as soon as possible, he was gonna persuade the director to give him some time off and then he was going to spend some quality time with Liz.

* * *

Liz sighed as she returned the phone to its hook and let her head fall back against her pillows; she understood that Max was tired, she really did, but it had been days since they'd spoken and even longer since they'd spent time together – Max hadn't been able to get away to see her before he'd left for Yorkshire after all – and she had been excited when he called tonight. Not for the first time in the last few weeks, she wondered if she and Max would ever be able to have a 'normal' relationship.

She turned over in the bed, cradling her cheek on one hand and bringing the other up beneath her chin. She closed her eyes in an attempt to get to sleep, but thoughts of Max kept invading her mind. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop remembering the time they'd spent together over Christmas; how good it had felt to be in his arms, how she'd thought she'd finally found the one person she was meant to be with, how she'd fallen for this wonderful man. Yet somehow, now that the holiday season was over and she'd returned to normal life, she was having doubts. After all, who in the hell met a Hollywood star, fell in love with them and lived happily ever after? Come on, this was real life, not some movie.

She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep, but thoughts of Max kept floating round and round in her mind, not allowing her to relax. As sure as she was that she and Max would have trouble maintaining their relationship, she was also as sure as anything that she didn't want it to end. As she began to drift off, she made a conscious decision; if Max couldn't come down to London to see her for a while, she would see what she could do about paying a surprise visit to certain little hotel in the Yorkshire countryside in the next few days.

* * *

Three days later, Max was still having a terrible time; everything was just going wrong he had no idea why. This morning it had taken him seventeen takes just to get one quick, two-minute scene right and he'd spent all afternoon forgetting his lines and then dropping his props at the most inopportune moments. Maybe it was this horrible, damp, cold weather that had him off-kilter at the moment; or maybe it was being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no one to talk to but his colleagues… or maybe it was because he hadn't seen Liz in almost two weeks, hadn't been able to touch her soft, warm skin, hadn't been able lose himself in her perfect body… God, he missed her. More than he'd ever thought he could miss someone.

"Okay, that's a wrap," called the director tiredly after Max dropped his prop cell phone for the fifth time in a row. "Good work today, people."

Max sighed with relief as the other actors began gathering their belongings and the film crew starting packing up the equipment. He didn't think he could handle any more today… he just wanted to take a nice hot shower and sink into a warm, cosy bed for some much-needed rest.

"Oh and Max?" added the director just as Max was about to leave the set. "I don't know what's going on with you right now, but we can't carry on like this much longer, okay? We've got a schedule to stick to and we can't keep doing take after take on every scene because your concentration is off."

Max forced a smile, inwardly knowing that his work standard the last couple of days had been unacceptable.

"Sure thing. Won't happen again."

The director nodded seriously, before softening his gaze slightly, "Look, Evans, just go home, get a good night's sleep and come back to set tomorrow fresh and alert, okay? You got that?"

"Fresh and alert," Max gave a nod of agreement. "Got it."

His response was a knowing smile and a nod towards the van waiting for him a few feet away, "They're about to go without you."

Max quickly grabbed his things and headed for the transportation that would return the cast back to the hotel. Their accommodation wasn't all that far away, but for some reason tonight's journey seemed to take forever and Max spent the majority of the drive slouched in his seat with his eyes closed and head back against the headrest as he attempted to figure out a way to get out of the depressed funk he was in. Unfortunately, all his thoughts kept returning to a certain petite brunette who he couldn't seem to get out of his mind. She was the answer to his problem; he knew deep down that if he could just see her, even maybe spend some time with her, everything would suddenly be so much better. But alas she was currently more than three hours away in London and there was no chance of that happening until they'd finished the location filming.

God, it had been too long since he had held her in his arms. Too long since he'd kisses her soft, supple mouth and held her naked body against his own as he make her come over and over again… just the thought of what he would do to her if she appeared before him right now caused his body to react and it was with an embarrassed shuffle that he realised where he was and quickly covered his lap with his jacket.

Man, he really needed to get laid.

No, not get laid… that was too crude a term to describe what he and Liz did. No, they made love. Yes, it sounded cheesy, but in all honesty there was no other way to describe it. And if he really was being honest, he would have to admit that there was a very real possibility that he was falling in love with her, with Liz Parker. They might have only known each other for a couple of months, but he'd known she was something special from the moment he'd laid eyes on her at Christmas and now, as time went on, he was finding himself thinking about her more and more.

However, there was just one tiny, niggling thought at the back of his mind; one he'd been trying to ignore for the past few weeks in favour of pretending to be blissfully ignorant. He was only here in England temporarily; his work visa was only valid for the duration of his filming schedule… and that was due to finish in a few weeks. He barely even had a month left to spend time with Liz and as soon as filming was done, he had to return to L.A. With a soft sigh, he opened his eyes to look out of the window into the darkness of night.

What on Earth were they going to do then?

_TBC…_


	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five**

Max let out a sigh of relief when they finally pulled up outside the hotel. Without wasting a second he climbed out ofthe van and headed straight for the entrance of the quaint building. He vaguely heard his co-star, Jacob, call out to him about why he wasn't joining them in the pub tonight, but he was too tired and frustrated to explain, so he just mumbled a quick sorry and told his friend that he was having an early night.

As he entered the hotel, he nodded to the receptionist, who gave him a twinkling smile and greeted him cheerfully.

"Good evening, Mr. Evans," she beamed as he walked past with a quick smile and a nod. "Have a lovely night."

He briefly frowned in puzzlement at her unusually friendly greeting, but simply smiled and nodded, "Thank you, I will."

Still slightly confused about the receptionist's strange reaction to him, he made his way upstairs to his room and pulled out the key. Unlocking it quickly, he pushed open the door and slipped into the room, turning to lock the door behind him. He was so focused on turning the key in the lock that he failed to notice that the bedside lamps had been turned on, giving the room a romantic atmosphere.

"Hey."

The soft voice that came from behind startled him and he jumped, whipping round with a sharp intake of breath to find that he wasn't alone. His mouth fell open as he took in the scene before him; right there on his bed, looking positively dangerous clad in a tight black and red corset, matching lacy underwear and garters, was Liz.

"W-what…?" he couldn't get his mouth to form coherent words.

But she just grinned and raised herself up onto her knees in the middle of the bed, "Miss me?"

"Liz…" he breathed in wonderment, his eyes raking over her perfect form as he began moving towards her. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," she began airily, reaching out to run her fingers over his shirt as he came to a stop in front of her. "I was missing you and I knew you weren't having the best time out here, so I decided to pay you a surprise visit."

She bit her lip as she looked up at him from under her lashes. It made her look very seductive and he felt his body react accordingly.

"You like?"

"Oh, yeah," he murmured, letting his eyes drop to her rather delectable breasts encased in barely-there fabric as his hands came up to rest on her hips. "Very much."

"I'm glad," she replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Max swallowed harshly as he took her in more completely. He couldn't believe she was really here, in front of him, dressed in the most alluring outfit he'd ever seen. He felt a tightening in his chest as he gazed down into her eyes and he couldn't help the grin that tugged at his mouth as she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair as she leaned in closer and took his lips in a breathtakingly passionate kiss.

"God," he mumbled against her mouth as they embraced. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper as she began kissing him more thoroughly now.

"Liz," he breathed, tightening his arms around her back as he lost himself in her.

They fell back against the bed, locked in each other's arms as they made up for lost time. Max let his hands wander and was just about to run his fingers across the exposed skin of her breast when a sudden thought occurred to him and he stopped, moving to support his upper body on his arms and lifting his head to look down into her flushed face.

"How did you get here?"

She gave a small frown of puzzlement, before her features softened and she gave him a grin, "Well, they have these new-fangled contraptions called trains, which travel across the country and allow you to get from one town to another–"

"I didn't mean that," he interrupted with a roll of his eyes and a chuckle. "I meant, how did you get here… to my room? They don't just let anyone in, you know; and when you're as famous as I am, they have to be careful."

"'_As famous as you are'_?" she teased, raising an eyebrow. "Not that you have an ego or anything."

"You know what I mean," he tutted good-naturedly. "You could have been anyone; a fan… or even a stalker… so how did you manage to persuade the hotel to give you the key to my room?"

"Well…" she grinned impishly. "It turns out that one of my colleagues knows a friend of a friend who happens to know your director, so I pulled some strings, got on the phone with him, and managed to persuade him to get me in."

His eyes widened in amusement, "You did what?"

"I know," she nodded. "I didn't think it would work either, but apparently the director thought you were in need of some serious TLC and was eager to comply."

Max rolled his eyes as he thought back to the conversation he'd had with the man just before he'd left the set this evening. Of course, he'd known all along about Liz being here waiting for him.

"Well then, in that case, remind me to thank him tomorrow," he murmured as his eyes locked with hers and he lowered his lips to hers once more, capturing them in a hungry kiss.

"I will," breathed Liz, her head falling back against the pillows as he moved his lips lower, nibbling along her jaw.

"But right now," he added between soft kisses, "I'm going to make love to you… all… night… long."

* * *

"Hmm," mused Liz sleepily as she curled into Max's warm, sweaty, naked body several hours later. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" he wondered, amusement colouring his tone while his fingers traced smooth patterns along the back of her neck.

"Okay, then, I can't decide," she amended, looking up at him with a small smile.

His brow furrowed, "What's to decide? Either you like it or you don't."

"Well, sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't."

"Huh," he was getting confused now.

"It's all about the texture, you see," she explained patiently, lifting her head to shoot him a smile. "I only like it if it's soft, springy and moist."

"Right, okay." he gave a warm chuckle, tugging her closer into his body. "You know, it's a good thing we're talking about cake here, because I'm not sure I want to know what else you might like soft, springy and moist."

"Oh, shut up!" she pulled a face and nudged him with her hip.

"Sorry," he shrugged with a grin.

"How did we get onto this topic of conversation anyway?" she wondered, adjusting her body so that she was almost on top of him as she slipped her leg between his.

He looked towards the ceiling, deep in thought, "Hmm, I can't remember now."

"Well, maybe…" she leaned up to press her lips against his warm neck, "… we should stop talking…" she trailed kisses down over his collarbone, "… and turn our attention to the more pressing issue at hand."

She let her fingers drift across his stomach and then lower still…

"Yeah… I think… we should," his reaction was punctuated by a sharp intake of breath.

He grasped at her hips with his hands, lifting her fully atop him and she eagerly complied, letting her legs fall either side of his hips as she braced her hands on the pillow beside his head.

"So," she leaned down to kiss his lips. "What time do you have to be up in the morning?"

"Early," he muttered distractedly as his hands roamed her naked body. "Very early actually."

"Like, how early exactly?"

She was rocking her hips against him now and he fought to retain control as he took a quick glance at the clock.

"Like in four hours."

"Oh," she pulled back and frowned down at him for a moment, before shrugging nonchalantly. "Well, um, you weren't planning on getting any sleep tonight, right?"

"Um, well…"

"'Cause," she continued casually, "what I have planned for you will definitely take up the best part of the next four hours."

He gulped audibly, "It will?"

"Well, you know… if you don't wanna, then we could always–" she started to climb off him, but he stopped her with his hand on her arm.

"No, no, I definitely wanna," he insisted, pulling her back down again. "The others will just have to deal with a sleep-deprived Max on set tomorrow."

"See, I knew you'd agree," she murmured smugly, settling her body fully against his once more. "You just can't resist me."

"Is that right, huh?" Max smirked, tightening his grip on her hips and pulling her lower body even closer.

"Yep," she raised an eyebrow and rolled her hips against him.

"Okay, you know what," he murmured suddenly. "You're right, I _can't_ resist you… in fact, you make me so hot I can barely control myself right now."

Without warning, he flipped her over onto her back and pinned her to the bed with his body.

"Max…" she gasped in surprise at their sudden change in position.

"These last two weeks have been almost unbearable without you," he murmured, showering her soft, smooth skin with eager kisses. "And now that I have you here, I intend to make the absolute most of you."

Liz's eyes drifted closed and a small contended moan escaped her lips as he slid inside her welcoming body once more. Her breathing quickened and her lips parted as they began to move together in a delicious rhythm that she just couldn't get enough of.

Suddenly, all the worry and uncertainty about the future of their relationship seemed completely unimportant and totally irrelevant; all that mattered was that she'd never felt more happy, and things had never felt more right, than when she was in Max Evans' arms. Los Angeles, London and Hollywood fame be damned, she was going to do everything in her power to make this work.

_TBC…_


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six**

"Ugh, turn the light off," mumbled Liz in annoyance as she turned over in the bed, burying her face in the pillows to block out the bright light coming from the ceiling.

"Sorry."

There was some shuffling, followed by a click as the bedside lamp was turned on and then the bed dipped as Max sat down on the edge.

She felt his warm hand rest on her bare shoulder for a moment and then electricity raced down her spine as his lips found her neck.

"Is that better?" he murmured against her skin,

"Mmm, yeah, definitely," she purred, keeping her eyes closed and turning her head to the side as she savoured his kisses.

He pulled back slightly and gave a soft chuckle, "I meant the light situation."

"Huh?" she carefully pried open her eyes and was relieved to find that the ceiling light had been switched off and had been replaced with softer light from the bedside table. "Oh, yeah. Thanks."

"No problem."

"What are you doing up this early?" she asked a moment later, taking in his jeans and bare chest. "Come back to bed."

"I can't, remember?" he replied, amused. "I told you I had to get up early for work."

"No, you didn't," she denied unconvincingly, snuggling further under the warm covers. "I think I would have remembered that."

"Well," he breathed, lowering his mouth to her neck once more as his hand crept under the duvet to caress her naked back. "You were otherwise occupied at the time, so I wouldn't blame you for not remembering."

"Oh, yeah," she muttered, her skin tingling from his touch. "That's right."

He grinned against her skin and placed a kiss just behind her ear before moving off the bed.

"Hey, I was enjoying that," Liz frowned and sat up, holding the sheets to her chest.

"I'm sorry," apologised Max, looking genuinely regretful as he reached for a clean T-shirt and pulled it over his head. "I really have to go… the bus leaves for the set in a few minutes."

"Oh," she looked up at him with a playful pout, "but I wanted to spend some time with you."

"I know," his face softened. "I want to spend time with you too."

"I don't think I planned this out very well at all," she admitted then. "I have no idea what I'm gonna do with myself all day."

With a smile, Max held his hand out to her. She took it and, taking the sheets with her, climbed out of the bed to stand before him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"I think you planned it out very well," he assured her. "Last night was amazing."

"It was, wasn't it?" she grinned, gazing into his eyes and she lifted herself up on tiptoes and gently kissed his lips.

"Hey, I have an idea: why don't you come with me today?"

"To the set?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "You can hang out in my trailer and watch us filming and stuff."

"I don't know, Max…" she murmured uncertainly.

"I'm sure no one will mind," he added. "And we'd get to spend some time together when I'm not on set."

"Well, if you're sure…"

"Of course I'm sure," he tightened his arms around her and kissed once more. "Go on, get dressed… we have to get going in a minute."

"Okay, then," she flashed him a quick smile before stepping back and hurrying to grab some clothes.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the couple appeared down in the hotel lobby together, much to the surprise of Max's co-stars who were waiting for them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" speculated Jacob as Max and Liz approached the small group. "Looks like someone got lucky last night, eh, Evans?"

"Whoa, Max, where did she come from?" added another of his co-stars, a young actor by the name of Tom White, as he raked his eyes over Liz's jean-clad form appreciatively. "I'd like to get me one of those."

"Hey!" frowned Max, slipping his arm around Liz's waist. "Fuck off, she's not a piece of meat."

"And 'she' can speak for herself, thank you very much," added Liz, trying not to roll her eyes at the chauvinistic display.

She stepped forward and held out her hand to Jacob who was standing closest, "Hello, I'm Liz, Max's girlfriend. Very nice to meet you."

"Oh, um…" Jacob glanced towards Max in slight confusion, before taking the offered hand. "Jacob Nicholson. Nice to meet you too."

He let go of Liz's hand and turned to Max with a frown, "Sorry, didn't know there was a girlfriend in the picture, mate."

"Well, not many people do," replied Max. "We're trying to keep things low-profile."

"Oh, right… okay," nodded Jacob, although he continued to look at Liz curiously.

"Liz will be joining us on location today," announced Max, as the van pulled up outside. He shot his co-stars a glare, which said, 'try anything funny and you're dead'. "If that's okay with everyone else."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

"No problem, mate."

"Fine with me."

"Great," Max smiled. "Shall we go?"

As the group of actors headed out of the door to the minibus, Liz hung back a little to speak with Max.

"What was that about?" she questioned impatiently.

"What? They thought you were a hooker!"

She rolled her eyes, "Max, they were just being blokes. Nothing I haven't heard before from the builders on the street outside my office."

"Still, that was uncalled for," he muttered, taking her hand in his as he tried to manoeuvre them towards the door.

"Maybe, but I'm perfectly capable of defending myself."

"Liz," he stopped and turned to look at her. "I wasn't going to let them just stand there and leer at you like that. It's just not in my nature."

A smile crept onto Liz's face, "Well, I suppose that's not a bad thing."

"Damn right it's not," he agreed emphatically. "My parents raised me right… and I'm not going to apologise for defending my girlfriend's honour, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, humouring him, although inside she couldn't help a feeling of warmth from rising in her chest in response. "I guess I'll just have to suck it up and let you defend my honour more often then."

"Yeah, you will," he grinned briefly before glancing out of the window at the bus, which was about to drive off without them. "Shit, we'd better go. Come on."

* * *

Liz couldn't help smiling with awe as she watched Max in action later that morning. She was sitting in Max's personalised chair next to the crew, eagerly taking in the film-set atmosphere. It was strange, she mused, as Max discussed the scene with the director briefly before beginning the next take. When they were alone together, everything seemed so normal… they were just Liz and Max, two ordinary people enjoying each other's company; but seeing him now, surrounded by cameras, hair and make-up artists, boom mics and crew, she was reminded how different his life really was compared to hers.

She turned her attention away from the actors for a moment to take in her surroundings. As her gaze swept over the set, her eyes suddenly locked with Max's and he flashed her a grin. Her lips curled up into a smile and she gave a small wave in return. The director called out for everyone to take their positions and with a quick nod in her direction, Max turned his attention back to the scene.

It was another fifteen minutes before the director finally called 'Cut!' and everyone broke for lunch. Liz climbed down from Max's chair and stood to the side while the crew headed over to the food table. However, rather than joining them to get food, Max made a beeline for her, took her hand and, with a smile, pulled her in the direction of his trailer. He held the door open for her and she stepped inside, looking around the large space in awe as he closed and locked the door behind them.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he announced with a playful grin, guiding her over to the long sofa at the end of the room before sliding onto the cushions and stretching his arms out along the back. "Ahh, just what I need: some relaxation."

"Yeah, you poor thing… all that standing around all morning must have worn you out," teased Liz as she slid onto the sofa beside him and rested her head against his shoulder.

"It wasn't the standing around, darlin'," he drawled with a smirk. "It was all that sex last night that did it. I barely slept a wink."

"Damn right," she nodded firmly in agreement.

He gave a small chuckle and let his arm fall around her, hugging her to him. She looked up to see him shaking his head.

"What?"

"I think I'm rubbing off on you," he told her. "You're sounding more American every day."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Oh no, am I?"

He laughed again, "It's not a bad thing. Honestly."

"Well, no, but I didn't even realise I was doing it."

"Come here," he said then, tightening his arm around her so that her upper body was pressed against his chest and leaning down to kiss her.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she let out a small sigh against his lips as she let herself sink into his warmth. The kiss deepened and she soon found herself lying back against the soft cushions as Max covered her body with his.

"Hmm, aren't we supposed to be eating lunch right now?" murmured Liz between kisses, her eyes still closed as she focused on the pleasurable sensations floating through her body.

"Yeah," mumbled Max, nuzzling her neck now. "But who gives a shit?"

"You're gonna be hungry later," she warned, although her voice was breathy and soft … and rather unconvincing.

"Really don't care," he muttered, his concentration focused on tugging her shirt over her head without breaking contact with her skin.

"Okay, fine," she smiled, rolling her eyes as she lifted her torso to allow him to rid her of the offending article. "Just starve to death then, see if I care."

"Fine by me," he replied distractedly, kissing a trail of nibbling caresses down over her collarbone as his hands fumbled with the zip on her jeans.

He eventually got them open and she shimmied out of the tight denim, settling back down beneath him as she reached for the zip on the black slacks he'd been wearing for filming and pulled it down slowly. With a mischievous smirk, she pushed him away from her and, urging him up into a sitting position, she swung one leg over his lap so that she was straddling him seductively, clad in just her underwear.

"Liz," murmured Max appreciatively, his eyes roaming across her bra-clad breast as his hands came up to grasp her bottom and pull her close.

"This," she murmured softly, reaching for the buttons on his shirt, undoing them one by one, "has got to go."

When she had undone all of the buttons, Max eagerly shrugged out of the cotton shirt and as Liz let her fingers trace the well-defined muscles of his chest, he reached down to free himself from the confines of his trousers. Pulling her underwear to one side, he guided himself to her entrance and she gasped softly as she sunk down onto him.

Their lovemaking was both gentle and passionate at the same time. Liz wound one arm around Max's neck, pressing her mouth to his in a scorching kiss, as the other hand roamed his bare skin. As the kiss deepened, Max's left hand came up to cradle her neck, while his right held her waist tightly as they moved together sensually. The whole time, Liz couldn't help but savour the closeness between them and the incredible feelings that being with Max like this created in her.

"Wow," murmured Liz, as they came down from their high several minutes later. "That was… wow."

"Just needed to work off some tension," grinned Max, breathing heavily as he tried to recover. "I couldn't concentrate on my lines this morning and it got me frustrated."

"You seemed pretty calm and cool out there earlier," observed Liz, stroking the damp hair off his forehead.

He shrugged, "Can't let my frustrations show on set – it's unprofessional."

She nodded in understanding, "How do you do it all day every day though? I think I'd go crazy spending all that time hanging around on a film set without actually getting much filmed in one go."

"You just get used to it, I suppose," he shrugged again, adorning her shoulder with gentle kisses.

"Yeah," she murmured distractedly, the feel of his lips on her skin causing her to lose concentration.

He pulled back to look at her with a smile, letting his fingers run through her long hair.

"It's just… I love what I do, you know?" he explained. "I love taking those words on the paper and making them into something real, something emotional. And knowing that I created this character on screen for everyone to see… it's just incredible."

"Yeah," breathed Liz, entranced by the emotion displayed in his eyes.

He smiled widely and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb as he tilted his head up to capture her lips… but before he could kiss her, they were interrupted by a loud banging on the trailer door.

"Oi, Max, are you in there? They want you in wardrobe for a fitting."

Max pulled back and rolled his eyes, causing Liz to giggle softly.

"Tell them I'll be there in five," he called back.

"Will do, mate."

As the owner of the voice retreated, Max turned back to Liz with a sigh, "I guess I'd better get dressed and head over there."

"Yeah," she agreed disappointedly as she climbed off his lap so he could stand up.

"You're welcome to stay here and make yourself at home though," he added as he reached for his shirt and pulled it on. "And, you know, feel free to stay dressed like that too. I, for one, certainly wouldn't mind coming back to you wearing nothing but that."

Liz gave a scoff, shaking her head at his words, but even so, she had no qualms about pulling herself up onto her knees and suggestively cupping her lace-covered breasts in her hands.

"I bet you wouldn't," she retorted playfully.

"Ugh," groaned Max, moving back over to the sofa and leaning down to kiss her. He pulled away reluctantly, "Okay, I really gotta go."

He finished rearranging his clothing and then, with one last heated look, he left the trailer. Watching him leave, Liz grinned to herself happily. He was so hot!

_TBC…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Part Seven**

It was several long hours before filming ended for the day and everyone piled into the van to head back to the hotel. When they arrived back, Max took Liz's hand and began to lead her towards the hotel entrance, but before they got very far, Jacob called out to them.

"Hey, Evans, you two not joining us in the pub for a couple of drinks?"

Max shook his head, "No, I don't think so. Thanks, anyway"

Beside him, Liz frowned in concern, "You don't wanna socialise with them?"

"Nah."

"Do you usually go with them? Is it because of me that you don't want to go?"

He shrugged, "Well, uh, you know… I'm not really a big drinker, so…"

Liz rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Max, what's one night gonna hurt?" Calling out to the group of actors making their way to the pub across the road, she added, "Actually, Jacob, we'd love to join you."

"Great," grinned Max's co-star, as he headed across the road.

Tugging on Max's reluctant hand, Liz led him into the pub behind the others and they all took a seat around a large table in the corner of the cosy lounge room. A couple of the guys headed for the bar to get the first round and soon the drinks were flowing. Liz was seated near the end of the table with Max on one side and Jacob on the other. Although she focused most of her attention on Max as she tried to join in the conversation, every so often she would look away to glance around the room and find Jacob giving her a friendly smile. He didn't seem to be taking part in the group chatter, so she decided to make polite conversation with him.

He was laidback and pleasant as he answered her questions about how he got into acting, but on a couple of occasions, when he was telling her about himself, he casually brushed her leg with his fingers. At first, Liz told herself that it was just an accident, but after the third time it happened, she shifted away and moved a little closer to Max, picking up her drink and taking a sip as she tried to forget about it.

A little while and a couple more drinks later, Max's Los Angeles agent called his cell phone to discuss a new possible project for him and Max excused himself from the table to take the call outside. Liz watched him go and turned back to her third drink feeling a little uncomfortable. However, soon Jacob moved away from the table to talk to some people by the bar and she relaxed, turning her attention to the lively conversation around the table. Max returned about fifteen minutes later to tell her that he had to head back over to the hotel to make an important phone call to the US. Despite her earlier reservations, the alcohol was giving her a pleasant buzz now and so Liz decided to stay in the pub for a little longer while Max made his call.

Half an hour later though, she was beginning to get tired and so she decided it was time to turn in for the night… only problem was, Max's co-stars kept trying to get her to join them for more drinks.

"Okay, I really should get going now," she insisted after one more round. She tried to sit up straight at the table, but her head was feeling very light from the alcohol. "Max will be wondering where I am."

"Aww, come on," murmured Jacob, suddenly appearing beside her and leaning in close to her ear, his hand on her arm. "You can stay a bit longer."

"No," protested Liz, fumbling for her jacket. "I really need to go."

"You're kinda drunk, Liz. I don't think you should be walking back alone."

"It's only across the road," she shrugged, shaking her head to clear it as she stood up. "I'll be fine."

"I'll walk you back," Jacob insisted, standing up beside her and taking her elbow. "Come on."

"No, I'm okay, really…"

But Jacob was already guiding her out of the warm building and into the cold night air.

"It's chilly out here, isn't it?" he commented casually as they rounded the corner of the pub.

"Y-yeah," shivered Liz, a blast of biting wind suddenly whipping around her.

Jacob stopped walking and glanced towards her with a grin, "You know, maybe you could do with a bit of warming up."

"What do you–?"

Her question was cut short when he suddenly grabbed her upper arms and brought her up against the wall of the pub building, his body pressing her against the rough stone as he forced his mouth onto hers.

Her eyes widened in shock and she struggled to free herself, but his grip was strong and his body heavy against hers and she found herself trapped.

"No…" she tried to speak, but his mouth was hot and heavy on hers and the word came out muffled.

Eventually he pulled back and she struggled to catch her breath… only to find him panting for an entirely different reason.

"Come on, Liz," he taunted, keeping his face close to hers. "You know you want it."

He thrust his hips against hers and she tried not to gag in disgust when she felt his arousal pressing against her insistently.

"Get the fuck away from me!" she growled, trying hard not to show her fear as her heart beat fast in her chest. "Leave me alone."

"Aww, now I know you don't mean that," he shook his head, a twisted smile on his face, his alcohol-scented breath hot against her skin. "I heard you and Evans going at it in the trailer this afternoon. Something tells me you're a real thrill-seeker in that department."

"No!" she shook her head firmly and tried to break free of his grip once again. "Get off me."

"Oh no, I don't think so," he said tauntingly, sliding one hand up under her top to grab her breast while placing the other against the wall beside her head. "See, I think you want this as much as I do."

"Fuck off!" she bit out, trying her best to ignore the feel of his hand on her skin as he ran his fingers down over her stomach and then began unzipping her jeans. "No… stop!"

She was helpless to stop him as he shoved his hand into her panties and began touching her roughly.

"Oh God," she whispered in anguish and shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to block out what he was doing to her. "No."

God, he was going to rape her. This was her worst nightmare… she'd heard enough stories of women being abused by men that she'd always sworn that she'd never let herself get into a situation where something like this could happen to her.

"Help!" she cried out when he started to pull her jeans down over her hips. "Please…. Somebody help me!"

"Shut the fuck up!" hissed Jacob angrily, covering her mouth with his hand to muffle her voice.

Struggling not to cry, Liz racked her brains to think of anything that she could do to get out of this horrible situation. She tried to push him away from her, but her arms were partially trapped beneath his weight and she couldn't find enough strength to do it.

How was she going to get away?

_Max_, she thought desperately, _Max, where are you? I need you. Please_.

Liz balked as Jacob lowered the hand covering her mouth and reached for his own zipper. She couldn't let this happen, she just couldn't. Thinking fast, she swallowed her disgust as she managed to lift her hand to his face, pulling his mouth to hers in a nauseating kiss meant to distract.

When she felt him relax slightly, she took action, lifting her knee to his crotch with as much force as she could muster. Her heart started pounding frantically as he cried out in pain and buckled in front of her, his hands covering his crotch.

It was now or never.

Making use of his momentary immobilisation, she pulled up her jeans and ran for the hotel as fast as she could. As she reached the hotel lobby, the tears finally began to fall and without even a glance towards the concerned receptionist, she ran for the stairs. It seemed to take forever to reach Max's room… like everything was running in slow motion, and when she got there, she fumbled with the key, unable to get it into the lock properly. She breathed a sigh of relief when the lock finally clicked and she rushed into the room, slamming and locking the door behind her.

At the sudden sound, Max's voice filtered through from the bathroom, "Hey, you're back. I was just gonna head back down to find you. Sorry the phone call took so long–"

He stopped short when he came into the room in a T-shirt and sweats and saw her standing there, pressed rigidly against the closed door, her breathing unsteady and tears streaming down her face.

"Liz? What's wrong?" his features softened and an expression of concern appeared on his face. "What happened?"

"I… um–" she stuttered, her voice catching as a sob racked her body. "He – he tried to… oh, God, Max–"

He frowned, his jaw tightening, "Who tried to what?"

"Ja–Jacob," she managed between stilted breaths, unable to control her emotions. "He said… he would… walk me home… but, he–he tried… to force me."

"He what?" cried Max angrily, his fists clenching at his sides. "That fucking bastard! Where is he? I'm gonna kill him."

"Max…" Liz whispered softly, shaking her head.

His gaze snapped to hers and as their eyes locked, she saw his shoulders slump as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Liz…" he murmured, his eyes full of concern as he reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Oh, God, Liz."

"Max," she said again, her face crumpling as fresh tears leaked from her eyes.

"Come here," he whispered, taking her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have left you there like that. If I'd stayed, this wouldn't have happened."

She just buried her face in his neck, savouring the comfort of his embrace.

"He didn't… he didn't hurt you, did he?"

She shook her head against his neck.

"Not physically… he just–" she shuddered at the memory. "Max, he… he touched me."

"That little fucker! I swear to God, when I get my hands on him…" he muttered furiously, releasing his grip on Liz and stepping back. "In fact, I'm gonna go do it right now. Where is he?"

"No, Max, please," she reached out to stop him. "Stay here… I need you."

He stopped, focusing on her for a moment, before taking a calming breath and then giving a concerned smile.

"Of course," he reached out to cup her face in his palm. "Are you okay?"

She managed a nod, "I think so… just a bit shaken up."

"Come on," he said softly, taking her hand and leading her over to the bed. "Let's lie down."

She nodded, kicking off her shoes and climbing into the bed with him, snuggling up against his side as he curled his arm around her shoulders.

"What happened?"

She sighed, wiping at the last of her tears, "I was ready to leave and I was going to walk back on my own, but he insisted on coming too. He took my arm, and I thought it was just to steady me because I'd had a bit to drink, but then when we got outside he… he pushed me up against the wall and kissed me."

She felt Max stiffen beneath her, but he didn't say anything, so she continued.

"I tried to push him away, but he was too strong and I couldn't get free. He put his hand up my top and then he… he undid my jeans." She felt fresh tears prick her eyes and took a deep breath. "He was touching me… and I tried to get him to stop – I even yelled for help, but he swore and put his hand over my mouth. In the end, I did the only thing I could thing of to distract him: I… I forced myself to kiss him and then when he wasn't paying attention, I kneed him in the crotch and made a run for it."

"God, Liz…" Max shook his head. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

"You weren't to know," she shrugged sadly. "I guess it was my fault for insisting that we went to the pub in the first place."

"No," Max shifted so that he was lying on his side, facing her. "It's not your fault; not at all. I just wish I hadn't left you there like that. I could have made the call later on instead."

"What do we do now… about Jacob, I mean?"

Max shrugged, "I don't know… do you want to report him?"

"I know I should," she murmured, dread starting to build up in her chest. "But right now I just want to go to sleep and forget about tonight altogether."

"Okay, if that's what you want," he said softly. "The rest can wait until the morning, okay?"

"Okay," she snuggled closer to Max, trying to erase all memory of the horrible event from her mind.

"Liz?" murmured Max a few moments later.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too."

_TBC_…


	8. Chapter 8

**Part Eight**

It was only just after six a.m., but Max was wide awake… a consequence of having to start filming so early each day lately. He was lying on his side, his hand under his head, propping himself up on his elbow as he gazed down at Liz's sleeping form. His chest tightened with emotion as he noticed her puffy eyes and the dried tear tracks on her face and he reached out to run a gentle finger over the soft, silky skin of her cheek. She was so beautiful in sleep, her face relaxed and unguarded, not a fear in the world.

He let his fingers drop from her face as he ran them down the length of her arm and then under the covers to her waist. Finally, his hand reached her leg, which was draped over his thigh and he let his palm rest there, just above her knee. She was wearing a pair of his sweatpants and one of his T-shirts; having only brought now inappropriate lacy underwear with her, she had borrowed some clothing from him to wear last night instead.

His breath caught in his throat as she shifted suddenly, a frown marring her previously relaxed features as her breathing quickened in sleep. She looked like she was having a nightmare and his heart immediately went out to her. She didn't deserve what had happened to her last night, no one did. He shook his head as anger began to build inside of him once more. Who did that bastard think he was, attacking Liz like that? He dreaded to think what might have happened if she'd been unable to get away. Jacob Nicholson was going to have to pay for what he'd done.

Liz shifted again, a small, whimpering moan escaping her mouth, and he leaned forward on instinct, nuzzling her warm neck with his nose as his hand drifted up to support her lower back, hugging her close.

"Mmm," she mumbled in sleep, shifting closer to him as he began pressing gentle, comforting kisses against her skin. "Max…"

He lifted his head to see her eyes flutter open and a soft smile tugged at his lips as he whispered, "Hey."

"Hi," she whispered back with a faint smile.

"You okay?" he wondered in concern.

She nodded sleepily, "I think so."

"Sleep well?"

She let out a small chuckle, before replying with the familiar phrase, "Like a log."

"Good," he laughed softly, giving her a gentle kiss. "That's good."

He reached up to brush her hair away from her face, his eyes searching hers for any sign that she was still affected by what had happened last night.

"I'm so sorry, Liz," he murmured throatily.

"What for?" she wondered.

"For what happened… I wish I could have stopped it."

"It's not your fault, Max. Don't blame yourself, okay? I'm fine."

"Really?" he wanted to be certain that she wasn't just putting on a brave face for him.

"Yes, really," she insisted. "I mean, I'm still a little shaken up about it, but I'll be okay."

"Okay," he replied with a smile, his fingers walking a trail down her side to rest on her lower back again. "But you know you can talk to me about it if you need to, right?"

"Yeah, I know," she lowered her gaze, focusing on tracing her fingers over his t-shirt-covered chest.

"And since you're going back to London today, maybe it would be a good idea to talk to someone there too… maybe your friend, Maria?"

"Yeah," she nodded, lifting her gaze to his again. "Maybe."

"Just… promise me you'll take care of yourself, okay?" he asked.

"I will," she smiled.

"Thank you."

She shifted beside him, her leg sliding up to hook around his hip as she wound her arm around his neck. He looked down into her dark eyes, his mouth just millimetres from hers, and his heart skipped a beat. With a tender smile, he lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her lips in a breathtaking kiss. She pressed herself against him and in response he tightened his grip on her waist, holding her close. He shifted so that she was lying beneath him and he took a moment to drink in the beauty of her flushed skin. With a smile, he leaned down and began a journey of tender kisses along her neck and down to her collarbone. He took his time worshipping her, carefully tugging his t-shirt over her head and then tasting her soft, bare skin with his mouth.

He made love to her slowly and gently, making sure to show her that she was safe with him. He did his best to try to erase the horrible memories of being assaulted last night and to replace those memories with tender, loving ones instead. Liz Parker was fast becoming the most important person in his life and he couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her again.

* * *

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" asked Max, as he looked down at Liz in concern later that morning.

"I'll be fine," she nodded, giving him a small smile. "Really."

"You have everything?" he checked for the third time.

She gave a chuckle, trying hard not to roll her eyes, "Yes, I have everything. Stop worrying."

He shrugged, bring a hand up to touch her lower arm, "I can't help it. I just want to make sure you get home safely."

"Again, I'll be fine," she insisted. She paused for a moment before wondering, "What about you? You won't say or do anything, will you?"

After they'd showered and dressed this morning, they had reported the incident with Jacob to the police, but although they had taken a statement from Liz, the officers claimed that without any witnesses or any concrete evidence, there was not much they could do at the moment. Liz had nodded in resignation at this, but Max had immediately jumped up and begun accusing the police of being negligent and unsupportive. Liz had eventually managed to get him to calm down and accept it, but he hadn't been happy about it. On their way back from the station, Max said he wanted to inform the director about what had happened as well, but Liz didn't want to draw attention to it or make the situation any worse than it already was, so she'd insisted that he leave it alone for now.

"To be honest, I don't know," he admitted. "I know you don't want it to be public, but I'd going to be hard not to say anything about what happened. I guess you're right though; after all, Nicholson does have a pretty big part in the film and we're already over halfway done. If I told them what he did, I don't think they'd have the time or money to recast and then re-film his scenes with another actor."

"I know you think I'm stupid for not wanting to tell them what he did," said Liz with a sigh, "but I just don't want to cause a big stir with it all. Please, just keep working with him for now, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," nodded Max with a grimace.

"Ugh," Liz shuddered, the thought of having to spend all that time so close to the bastard making her want to run for the hills. "Although, you know, if he does anything else, feel free to punch his lights out for me, okay?"

"Oh, believe me, it's going to be extremely hard _not_ to punch him," he muttered. "But I'll try to restrain myself for you. I'm just gonna have to be professional about it."

"Yeah," smiled Liz. "You do that."

"But enough talking about me… your taxi is gonna be here soon," he reminded her.

"I know," she murmured softly. "Part of me really wants to stay here with you, but the rest of me is desperate to get away from this place."

"I know… and I completely understand," he nodded. "You need to go, and that's fine with me. Plus, don't you have to go back to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I do," she pouted, her heart sinking at the thought of going back to her office job. "And then I already promised Maria that I would go with her to an art gallery on Saturday. They're displaying some of Michael's work this week."

"Really? That's great," grinned Max. "I always knew he would make something of himself. How is Michael, by the way?"

"Oh, he's doing pretty well, according to Maria," she told him with a smile. "You know, I still can't believe that you two know each other. Talk about a small world!"

"I know," he shook his head and gave a chuckle. "Last person I ever expected to see in London."

She was about to suggest that he gave Michael a call to catch up when he got back to London, but before she could say anything, a car horn sounded from outside, interrupting her thoughts.

"That's your taxi," said Max unnecessarily.

"Yeah," she glanced out of the window at the dark vehicle outside. "Well, I guess I'd better be off."

He nodded, reaching down to pick up her bag, "Come on, let's get you downstairs."

She gave him a small smile, before turning towards the door. They left the room and made their way down to the hotel lobby.

"Maybe you should go out there on your own," suggested Max as they stopped near the entrance and he put her bag down on the floor. "I'd rather not risk any photos appearing in tomorrow's tabloids."

"Okay," she agreed with a nod. "So, I guess this is it for a while?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna miss you."

He smiled and shook his head, "It'll only be for a few more days. I'll be back in London before you know it."

"Yeah," she murmured with a sad sigh. "Don't work too hard, okay?"

He smiled at that, "I won't. You either."

"I won't," she repeated, before glancing out at the taxi where the driver was waiting for her. "I should go."

She reached down to pick up her bag, but was stopped by Max's hand on her arm.

"Hey, you're not getting away that easily," he smirked. "Come here."

At his puppy-dog expression, she laughed and lifted herself up on tiptoe, wrapping her arms around his neck. They embraced tightly, savouring their last few moments together, and as Liz pulled back, Max leaned down and captured her lips in a slow, gentle kiss.

"I meant what I said earlier," he whispered, pulling away and looking down into her eyes as he referred to the conversation they'd had in bed earlier. "Take care of yourself, okay? I know you're still shaken up, but that's all right… just take some time, talk to Maria about it if you like, and I'll be back before you know it."

"I will," she swore. "Thank you."

"_De nada_," he murmured with a soft smile as he let go of her before reached down for the bag and handing it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks," she nodded, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "Okay, I'm going now."

"Okay."

"Right… this is me; going," she said again, not even moving a muscle as she stared up into his handsome face.

"Liz?" his tone was amused.

"Yeah?" she muttered distractedly, unable to make her feet move as she lost herself in his eyes.

"Go," he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around, guiding her towards the door.

With a sigh, Liz looked out of the door towards the taxi and then quickly turned to kiss him one last time.

"Bye, Max," she murmured as she opened the door. "See you soon."

"Bye, Liz. Have a good trip."

With a heavy heart, she stepped outside and got into the taxi. As the car drove away from the hotel and headed for the train station, she felt a mixture of sadness that she was leaving Max and also relief that she was getting away from the pain of last night's events.

* * *

The journey back to London was long but uneventful. Liz spent most of the time curled up in her seat with a book in her hand and headphones in her ears. When the train finally pulled into King's Cross station, she let out a sigh of relief, quickly gathering her things and making her way out onto the platform. She caught the tube back to her flat, all the way trying not to let her pent-up emotions spill over. She'd meant what she'd told Max earlier, she was fine… pretty much… but now that she was alone, and he was so far away, everything suddenly seemed to weigh on her shoulders.

As soon as she got home, she shut herself in her bedroom and climbed under the covers, hugging the sheets around her body like a lifeline as she let out all the emotion that she'd been keeping inside all day. She cried because of what Jacob had done to her; she cried over leaving Max this morning; hell, she even cried because there was no ice cream in the freezer. She had no idea how long she lay there in bed, burying her face in her pillow, but the next thing she knew, her doorbell was ringing and the clock by her bed read six-fifteen p.m.

Wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, she stumbled out of bed and headed for the door, pressing the buzzer beside it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Liz, it's me," came Maria's cheerful tone. "You'd better let me up; I have take-away pizza and ice cream."

"Hey, 'Ria," she replied, trying not to sound as if she'd just been crying. "Come on up."

She pressed the buzzer to let her friend in and then quickly ran back to the bedroom to tidy herself up. However, the moment Maria entered the flat and saw her appearance, she gasped in concern.

"Liz, what's wrong? You've been crying," she put the food down on the coffee table and made her way over to Liz. "What happened? Was it Max? Did he do something?"

Liz had to suppress a watery smile at the barrage of questions as she shook her head and sank down onto the sofa.

"No, it's not Max. He's fine; great, actually."

"So, what is it?" asked Maria, taking a seat beside her. "Something's obviously wrong."

She sighed, dropping her head in her hands, "It was all going really great; I surprised Max in his hotel room and we had a great night. I even went on location yesterday and watched him filming some scenes. It was perfect… until we went to the pub last night."

"Why, what happened?" Maria reached out and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Liz took a deep breath, before lifting her head and relaying the entire Jacob incident to Maria. Her friend's reaction went from shocked, to sympathetic, to angry at what he had done to her. After several minutes of ranting and raving that the bastard should be arrested and locked up, she finally calmed down enough to give Liz a tight hug and assure her that she would do everything possible to take her mind off 'the incident' and help her out. They spent the next four hours watching rom-com DVDs, pigging out on pizza, ice cream and a bottle of white wine; and by the end of the evening, Liz was feeling much more positive about everything.

The only thing missing now was Max.

_TBC…_


	9. Chapter 9

**Part Nine**

Tuesday evening found Liz in Max's plush hotel room in Knightsbridge. He had returned from location in Yorkshire that afternoon and had left a message on her answer phone to say that he had the evening off and did she want to have dinner with him? However, when she'd arrived at his hotel half an hour ago, there had been several paparazzi waiting outside for a glimpse of a celebrity and she and Max had quickly decided it would be best to stay in for the night instead of braving the press.

"So, what do you fancy?" asked Max, handing Liz his hotel room service menu before heading over to the minibar in the corner of the room and extracting a bottle of wine. "We can order anything you like."

With a smile, Liz scanned her eyes across the list of delicious-sounding dishes, although she halted, her eyes widening with shock when she noticed some of the prices.

"Oh my God, twelve pounds for fish and chips? That's crazy!" she exclaimed. "You can buy the same thing from the chip shop down the road for less than half that price."

Across the room, Max shrugged as he opened the wine bottle and began pouring to cold liquid into two glasses, "That's room service for you."

She looked up at him in surprise, "You actually pay these prices?"

"Well, yeah," he nodded, returning to the sofa she was sitting on and placing the glasses down on the small table in front of it. "You know, it's not like I can't afford it."

"Yeah… I guess," she murmured, returning her attention to the menu once more. "It's just such a rip-off though."

He gave a smirk, "You know, you don't have to order anything at all if you don't want to."

Liz shook her head, "No, I'm really hungry…I guess I'll just have to suck it up and order."

Max let out a soft sigh, "I'm sorry. This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I invited you for dinner. It's just that there are all those paparazzi hanging around down there, just waiting to pounce the minute I leave the hotel. I don't want you to have to deal with the attention too."

"It's okay," returned Liz with a smile. "I don't mind. I'm just glad that the director let you have a night off for once."

"Yeah."

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause as Liz perused the menu some more and Max relaxed back against the cushions, lifting his wine glass to his lips.

"So," he murmured a few moments later, breaking the silence. "How are you? You know, after last week… are you okay?"

Liz lifted her head from the menu to give him a quick smile, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she nodded in insistence. "I took your advice though and talked to Maria about it."

"Yeah?"

She nodded again, "It went well. We had a girl's night in, just talking, eating and watching DVDs… oh, and drinking lots of wine. I felt much better after that."

Beside her, Max chuckled, "I'll bet. Sounds fun."

"Yeah."

They lapsed into silence once more, Liz going back to studying the menu intently, while Max let his gaze roam around the room, deep in thought. When the silence finally broke again, they spoke simultaneously.

"Okay, I'm ready to order–"

"Liz, I've been thinking –"

"Oh, sorry," apologised Liz with a smile, gesturing towards him with her hand. "You first."

Max shook his head, "No, it's okay, really. Let's order some food first. What did you decide on?"

"Oh, um, I'm gonna go for the Linguine Pasta with Carbonara sauce. What about you?" she held the menu out to him, but he didn't take it.

"I'm having the Sirloin Steak," he smiled when she looked at him questioningly and so he explained, "I already know what's on the menu."

"Oh, okay," she nodded.

He gave her a smile before reaching for the phone to order the food. Liz watched him contemplatively as he dialled the number and spoke to the person on the other end. He'd looked like he'd been about to say something important just now, and judging by the less-than-flowing conversation in the last few minutes, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what that something was.

"Okay, food will be here in about fifteen minutes," announced Max as he put down the phone and gave her a smile, adjusting his position on the sofa so that he was facing her.

"Great."

There was a slight pause, before Max spoke up again, "Liz…"

"Yeah?" she wondered, slightly apprehensively.

He reached out to trace her lower arm with his fingertips and she shivered in response.

"What are we gonna do?"

Her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat, "About what?"

"This…" he nodded to her. "Us."

"What do you mean?" she played dumb, hoping desperately that this wasn't some kind of break-up conversation.

He shrugged helplessly, "I mean, we hardly get any time to see each other as it is, and I'll be going back to L.A. soon… I guess I'm wondering what's going to happen then."

Liz racked her brains for a suitable answer, one that would reassure both of them that things were going to be just fine.

"I don't know, Max," she murmured eventually, looking down at where his fingers were touching her skin.

He sighed, moving his hand away and running it through his hair, "God, you're like, the most amazing woman I've ever met. You make me feel all these things that I never thought I could feel… I just can't even contemplate going back to L.A. and leaving you here in London."

Liz felt tears prick her eyes at his heartfelt speech, "Me either, Max. Before I met you, I was just kinda going through the motions, you know? Not really thinking that I would meet anyone special; but then you turned up on my doorstep and changed everything for me. The thought of you living so far away… I'm not sure what I'm gonna do when you have to leave."

"God," sighed Max, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I really wish I could stay here longer, but I have to be back in L.A. in a month. Why does life have to be so complicated?"

Liz gave a small smile, before moving closer to him and sliding her arms around his waist, letting her chin rest on his shoulder.

"Well, you were the one who decided to become a big film star," she teased. "You only have yourself to blame."

"Yeah," he gave a wry smile, "but if I hadn't done it, then I would never have met you."

"True," she mused. "And I wouldn't change that for the world."

His smile widened, "Neither would I."

"We still have a month, though," she pointed out. "I know your filming schedule is crazy, but I'm sure we can make time to see each other."

"Yeah, definitely."

She lifted her chin from his shoulder as he turned to face her, his expression determined.

"And when you have to go home, we'll work something out, okay?" she told him, hoping desperately that they would.

"You're right," he nodded, relaxing a little more now. "We will work something out; we have to… because I'm planning on having you in my life for as long as possible."

"Really?" her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, really," he chuckled, reaching up to cup her face in his hand. "Come here, you."

She leaned towards him and her lips met his in a kiss full of promise and meaning. She poured all of her feelings into the embrace as she slid her arms around his neck to hold him close. She knew things weren't gonna be easy for them and that they would have to work hard at their relationship if they wanted it to succeed, but being here with him now, the feel of his lips on hers making her heart flutter, she also knew that it would be worth it.

* * *

The food arrived a few minutes later, interrupting Max and Liz, who were now stretched out on the sofa together, hands roaming all over the place. With a reluctant sigh, Max lifted himself up off the couch and, running his hand through his hair and straightening his clothes, went to open the door. As he greeted the attendant, who brought the cart of food into the room, Liz picked up the bottle of wine and their glasses and made her way over to the small table in the corner of the room. The attendant started to set up the meal, but Max was quick to dismiss him, opting to do it himself.

They took their time over dinner, Max offering pieces of steak to Liz while she would occasionally hold out a forkful of pasta and creamy sauce to him. They hadn't decided on it, but Max had taken the initiative to order dessert as well… in the form of a large slice of chocolate fudge cake.

"I'll admit that it's not as good as your Yule Log, but this is pretty good cake," he told her as she began to dig into the moist sponge.

"Mmm, it's delicious!" exclaimed Liz as she took a bite, the creamy fudge melting in her mouth. "Just the way I like it."

"Hmm, let me see if I can remember correctly: soft, springy and moist, right?" replied Max with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Yep," she licked her lips, partly because of the cake, but mostly because of the way Max was looking at her right now: like _she_ was dessert instead.

She dug her fork back into the chocolate mass and held it out to him, "You want some?"

"Uh huh," he nodded eagerly, leaning forward and closing his lips around the piece of cake as their eyes locked.

Liz had to suppress a shudder at the eroticism of the moment as Max lifted a thumb to his mouth to catch a few errant crumbs and suddenly the cake didn't seem so important any more.

"Did you know there's a hot tub in the bathroom?" he murmured, his hand covering hers as his fingers traced gentle patterns on her palm.

"Really?" she murmured as she raised an eyebrow, the atmosphere between them changing suddenly.

"Yep," he grinned. "Care to try it out with me?"

She returned the grin, "As if I could say no."

He closed his fingers around her hand, urging her to stand up. As he began leading her towards the bathroom, she turned back to glance at the table.

"Wait, what about the cake?" she wondered, staring at it longingly.

Max shook his head with a grin, "Bring it with you."

Her eyes lit up as she reached for it, "Okay."

"And the wine too," added Max, his grin becoming a smirk as Liz reached for the wine glasses, handing one to him, and he led her into the bathroom.

* * *

"This is the life," sighed Liz, several minutes later as she sank down further into the steaming bubbles and leaned her head back against the side of the tub. "I could just stay in here forever."

Beside her, Max chuckled, "Nah, you'd get bored soon enough."

"You think so?" she mused, reaching for her glass of wine and taking a sip. "I'm not so sure… I suppose it would depend on whether I was alone or not."

He raised an eyebrow, giving her a leer, "Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded with a sly grin. "I doubt I would get bored if I had company."

At that, Max slid off the small hot tub seat and moved to kneel in front of her. She parted her legs to accommodate him as he leaned in close so that his mouth was barely centimetres from hers.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," she breathed, her gaze lowering to his bare chest, glistening with water droplets, for a moment before her eyes fixed on his lips.

"You know," he murmured as he slid his hands under her knees and pulled her up against him, "I think maybe I could get used to spending more time in here."

Liz found herself struggling to breath properly as the tension in the room suddenly escalated. She could feel so much of his bare skin pressing up against her that she bit her lip in response as her body reacted to him shamelessly.

"God, Max."

"C'mere," he smiled, capturing her lips with his in a hungry kiss as he tugged her forward, supporting her on his lap as he slid back onto the bench.

Liz shuddered as Max's palm flattened against her upper back and her lower body came into contact with his. She deepened the kiss, slipping her arms around his neck.

"Hmm," she murmured against his mouth, several long moments later. "So when do I get my surprise?"

"Huh?" Max pulled back to look at her in confusion.

"You know," she teased, running a hand down his chest. "The one you bought in _Ann Summers_ the other week? You said it was a surprise for me."

His eyes widened slightly in understanding, before his lips curled up into a sly smirk, "Ohhh, _that_ surprise."

"Yeah…" she confirmed, before giving him an expectant smile. "So…?"

"Well…" he seemed to be contemplating the idea. "I guess I could give it to you tonight."

"_Give it to me_, huh?" she grinned cheekily, her reply laced with innuendo. "Sounds exciting."

"Oh, it will be," Max assured her confidently. "But first, I plan to ravish you to within an inch of your life right here in the hot tub."

"Sounds like a plan," murmured Liz throatily as Max placed his hands on her hips and brought her naked body flush against his.

"Hey, you want some cake?" his voice was seductive as he reached for the plate over the side of the tub.

"Sure."

Holding the plate between their bodies, he scooped up a forkful of the gooey sponge and held it out to her. Eyes locked with his, Liz leaned forward with a predatory smirk and opened her mouth for the offered cake, savouring it slowly.

"Mmm… delicious," she purred, licking her lips when she'd finished and then reaching for the fork. "Your turn now."

They took it in turns to feed each other the cake, occasionally pausing for a sip of wine, until it was all gone and Liz was dizzy with arousal. As Max shifted to return the now empty plate to the edge of the tub, a jet of water suddenly hit the sensitive skin of her lower body and she gasped in response, grabbing onto Max and muttering in his ear.

"I need you. Right now."

"As you wish," he grinned with a devilish glint in his eye, his hands cupping her bottom as he brought her down on him, kissing her hard as they began to move together.

* * *

"Oh my God, I don't think I can move a muscle," sighed Liz, lying back on the large hotel bed an hour later wrapped in nothing but a towel, her damp hair splayed out on the pillow.

"Aww, now don't give up on me yet," smirked Max, stretching out on his back beside her, hands behind his head and his own towel riding low on his hips.

"Just give me a sec to recover, okay?"

Max pouted, shifting onto his side and sliding a hand across her towel-covered abdomen as he covered her neck with hot kisses, "Do I have to? I was kinda hoping I could give you your surprise now."

"Mmm, in a minute," she murmured, feeling her eyes sliding closed as tiredness overtook her body.

A minute turned into an hour, and then one hour turned into two, and the next thing Liz knew, she was waking up to find Max sleeping beside her, his head on her chest, and arm still curled around her waist.

She let out a yawn and then stretched out her body, shivering slightly due to the fact that she'd fallen asleep with wet hair and only wearing a towel. Max's head jerked up at the sudden movement and he smiled up at her sleepily.

"Hey."

"Hi," she whispered, turning over on her side to face him as he shifted to accommodate her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

"Hey, I fell asleep too," he reminded her with a smile as he reached over to smooth her hair out of her face. "So… you in the mood for some pampering?"

"Pampering?" wondered Liz.

What was he talking about?

"Your surprise," he elaborated. "It involves pampering."

She raised an eyebrow, "It does?"

"Yeah," nodded Max with a grin. "Come on. You ready?"

"Definitely."

It turned out that Max's _Ann Summers_ surprise involved a full body massage, complete with massage oils, and some rather daring lingerie that made Liz feel incredibly sexy… and was rather appreciated by Max, if his reaction to her wearing it was any indication.

After an amazing night of hot tub sex, massage oil sex and daring lingerie sex, Liz and Max finally collapsed in an exhausted heap in the bed at around three a.m.. Max was the first to fall asleep and Liz found herself lying on her side, resting her head on her palm, as she watch him in deep slumber. A contented smile drifted onto her face as she gaze swept over his beautiful features: from his long eyelashes, to the inviting curve of his mouth, right down to the muscles of his chest.

God, he was just perfect.

_TBC…_


	10. Chapter 10

**Part Ten**

Liz couldn't help sighing with happiness as she sat at her desk the next afternoon. Last night with Max had been incredible and her entire body felt relaxed and rejuvenated. Having said that, it had been so hard to leave him early this morning… in fact, she'd been so reluctant to go that Max had to walk her all the way to his hotel room door, kissing her all the way.

Was it bad that she wanted to lock herself in that hotel room with him and stay there forever?

The phone on her desk rang suddenly, interrupting her thoughts and she shook her head to clear it before reaching for the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Oh my God, Liz!" it was Maria and she sounding rather panicked. "Have you been on the internet yet today?"

"No, why?"

"There are pictures of you online."

"What?" exclaimed Liz, her eyes widening and her eyebrows raising in shock. "What pictures?"

"Pictures of you leaving Max's hotel room in Knightsbridge this morning," elaborated her friend. "Pictures of you and Max kissing outside said room."

Liz heart lurched in her chest and she felt her cheeks heating up, "Oh my God, how did this happen? We were being so careful to avoid the cameras and everything. Where are these pictures? I want to see them."

"Mostly on the _E! Online_ website," informed Maria. "It's not too bad though; I mean, they only really got the back of your head, so it's not like everyone's gonna know it's you. The sites are just calling you 'Max's new mystery woman'."

"And that makes me feel so much better," muttered Liz under her breath as she opened her web browser and logged onto the website… and sure enough, right there on the home page, was a photo of her and Max, arms wrapped around each other and mouths fused together. "Fuck, I can't believe there were paparazzi outside his room. This is crazy!"

"Welcome to life in the public eye," pointed out Maria. "If you and Max are gonna keep seeing each other, then you're gonna have to get used to it."

"Yeah, I guess," she mumbled in reply. "I was just kinda hoping we'd be able to stay under the radar for a while longer, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," replied Maria sympathetically. "Oh, and speaking of not staying under the radar… it seems that the press has also got wind of there being tension on Max's film set too. They're speculating about a feud between Max and Jacob Nicholson."

At that, Liz snorted, "Yeah, well, I wouldn't be surprised after what that bastard did to me last week. Max can barely stand the sight of him right now."

"I don't know how he does it," commented Maria. "Put on a brave face and pretend like they're best friends on camera."

"I don't get it either, but that's acting, I guess," said Liz. "Look at SJP and Kim Cattrall – apparently they hate each other off camera, but you'd never guess from watching Sex and the City."

"Yeah," mused Maria, before changing the subject. "So, anyway, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks, Maria," smiled Liz. "Had an amazing time with Max last night–"

"So it would seem from the looks of that kiss this morning," interrupted her friend.

"Shut up, you," chuckled Liz. "But, yeah, it was a great night. What about you? Michael must be happy about the success of his gallery showing."

"Yeah, he is. I'm really glad that it's finally working out for him, you know?" she replied. "He deserves it."

"Yeah."

"Things are same old, same old with me though; nothing new to report. After all, not all of us lead exciting lives with Hollywood celebrities, you know."

"Oh, ha, ha," deadpanned Liz. "At least your boyfriend lives in the same city as you. In less than a month, Max and I will be five-and-a-half thousand miles apart. Not to mention the eight-hour time difference, which means that when I get up in the morning, he'll be just going to bed. I'm not entirely sure how that's gonna work."

"Oh, hon, I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll work something out."

"Yeah, I hope so," said Liz, trying to stay upbeat about Max's impending departure. She glanced around the office briefly, only to find her boss watching her through the window of his office. "Look, I'm gonna have to go now, but we'll talk later, okay?"

"Sure, hon, have a good one."

"You too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Liz let out a sigh as she replaced the receiver. This was just great; now there were intimate photos of her and Max out there somewhere and no doubt the gossip mill would start turning very soon with speculation of Max's 'mystery date'… so much for being inconspicuous about their relationship and not drawing attention to themselves. She was tempted to pick up the phone and call him to tell him about the photos, but the way that her boss was giving her a suspicious look from his office, she knew that would be a bad idea right now.

* * *

Max was relaxing in his trailer during a much-needed break from filming later that evening when his cell phone rang. Thinking it was Liz he reached for it eagerly, flipping it open and answering immediately with a cheerful hello.

"Oh, so you are still alive then?" came a female voice from the other end of the line. "Never would have guessed with the complete lack of phone calls."

"Anna?" Max sat up straight on the sofa. "Hey. What's up?"

"What's up?" she questioned, giving a snort of amusement. "Well, for starters, I've been wondering if you were ever actually going to call me while you were away in London. You know, to let me know how you were getting on?"

"Oh, well, I'm sorry," he apologised. "I meant to call, but… you know, I've been really busy with filming and stuff lately."

"Really?" she wondered, her voice sounding slightly suspicious now. "And that 'stuff' wouldn't have anything to do with those photos of you kissing some woman now, would they?"

Max stiffened, his grip tightening around the phone, as he ground out a reply, "Photos… what photos?"

"You tell me," she replied. "You're the one with your mouth firmly attached to hers outside your hotel room. They're all over the internet this morning."

Max closed his eyes as realisation dawned. There must have been a paparazzo outside in the corridor when he walked Liz to the door this morning. All this time, he'd taken so much care to stop the press getting wind of their relationship, yet now they had pictures of them together and it was all his fault.

"Shit!" he groaned aloud. "Fuckin' paps… they never leave me alone."

On the other end of the line, Anna scoffed, "Well, what do you expect? You're big news; remember the first time you took me to a premiere… the press had a field day!"

"Yeah, don't remind me."

"So… what's with this girl in the photos then?" she asked. "Was it like a one-night thing? I mean, I have to admit, she doesn't really seem like your type."

Max frowned, "No it wasn't. And what's that supposed to mean, 'not my type'?"

"Well, you know, I thought blondes were more your thing… not forgetting the occasional redhead, of course," she added, in obvious reference to herself. "So, this girl… if she wasn't a one-night stand, then what is she exactly?"

Max let out a small sigh, his thoughts drifting to Liz for a moment, "You know, I'm not really sure exactly. All I know is that I can't get enough of her and I have no idea what I'm gonna do when filming finishes and I have to come home."

There was a slight pause before Anna replied, "Right. So, um, who is she… this girl?"

He hesitated for a moment, debating how much he should say to her. She was his friend and he trusted her, but at the same time very few people actually knew about his relationship with Liz and he was hesitant to tell anyone else yet.

"Her name is Liz," he started. "We met at Christmas, when I was staying with my mom's old friends from Roswell for the holidays. Liz is their daughter."

"Wow, so it's been a few weeks, then?" she gave a small chuckle. "Seems serious."

"Yeah," confirmed Max with a grin. "At least, I'd like to think so."

"I guess that means our arrangement is off now then?"

"Uh huh."

"Aww, that's too bad; I was looking forward to doing some serious catching-up when you got back."

"It has to be over," reminded Max. "That's what we agreed – if one of us found someone, we would stop. I'm just a one-woman guy, you know."

"You are?" replied Anna teasingly. "Never would have guessed… after all, weren't you sleeping with both me and Tara Wilson at one point last year?"

"No!" Max denied instinctively, but then he thought about it and relented. "Well, okay, maybe… just once… or twice. But it wasn't like I was actually dating Tara or anything. It was just a couple of bad dates with a bit of good sex at the end."

"Ugh," muttered Anna in response. "You are such a guy sometimes. Does this Liz know what you're like?"

"I'm not like that… usually," defended Max. "The Tara thing was just, I dunno, a _thing_, you know?"

"Right," returned Anna, her tone slightly disbelieving and Max could picture her rolling her eyes at him.

"Liz is… God, she's like, everything I've been missing all this time–"

"Well, thanks a lot!" scoffed Anna. "Nice to know I can satisfy you."

"You know that's not what I mean," he clarified. "It's not just about sex, it's about everything else too. You and I… we didn't work as a couple, remember? But with Liz, it's different. When I'm with her it's like the rest of the world disappears and it's just us. I think… I think she could be The One."

"The One? Really?" she sounded surprised. "Max, are you sure? You've only known her for a few weeks."

He shrugged, even though she couldn't see him, "Well, I don't know, really. I've never felt like this about anyone else before. But being with her… it just feels right."

"Wow… Max Evans in love – I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Well, I don't know if I'd go that far," Max was quick to respond. "We'll just… see how it goes."

"Yeah, okay," she replied, her tone giving off a 'whatever you say' vibe.

"Yeah," stated Max – although it was more to reassure himself than for Anna's benefit – as he glanced over at the clock on the trailer wall. "Look, I gotta go now; my break is almost up and I've got to get back on set."

"Okay, but we'll talk soon, yeah?"

"Sure," replied Max. "And I'll be back in L.A. in about three weeks anyway."

"Great," said Anna. "Looking forward to it. Don't work yourself too hard.

"I won't."

"Bye, Max."

"Bye."

Max looked down at his phone for a moment as he ended the call. Anna was a good friend and he was so glad that they could be honest with each other about things like this.

"Evans!" came a shout from outside. "Time to get moving!"

"Be right there," he called out, pocketing his phone and stepped out of the trailer.

As he headed back onto the film set, he spotted a couple of paps lurking across the road and his thoughts went to Liz and the internet photos that Anna mentioned. Did Liz know about the photos? He had tried so hard not to let the press get wind of his relationship with her and so far he'd been successful, but obviously his luck had run out now. He just hoped that Liz wouldn't be scared off by the unwanted attention. He would have to call her later about it, but for now he had to face the prospect of spending the rest of the day on set with Jacob Nicholson… and what a fun few hours that was gonna be.

Although he had promised Liz that he would be professional with Jacob, it definitely wasn't easy when the bastard kept shooting smug grins in his direction and just before they'd wrapped up the on-location filming over the weekend, the jerk had said something about Liz as he came out of his trailer and Max had snapped. He'd pinned Nicholson up against the side of the trailer and told him in no uncertain terms that if he ever mentioned Liz's name again, he would barely live to regret it. And as he'd walked away, he'd sworn to himself that after this he would never work with Jacob Nicholson again

_TBC…_


	11. Chapter 11

**Part Eleven**

"So, Max, did you always want to be an actor?" asked Maria curiously from beside Max, as she topped up his glass of wine and then placed the bottle back down on the dining table.

It was Wednesday night, a week after the photos of Liz and Max had appeared on the internet, and the four of them – Liz, Max, Maria and Michael – were enjoying a quiet dinner at Maria and Michael's flat. So far, no one else had discovered Liz's identity from the photos and despite some tabloid speculation over Max's new 'female acquaintance' last week, the photos hadn't caused too much of a stir – something that Max was very glad about, especially as he didn't want Liz in the public eye any more than she had to be.

"Well," Max replied thoughtfully, briefly glancing across the table at Michael, who just gave him a smirk. "Actually, it wasn't something I really gave much thought to until I moved out to L.A. with Isabel after high school. She was the one who wanted fame and fortune and I just went along for the ride, but then she persuaded me to come to an acting class with her and I loved it so much that I changed my mind."

"Wow," Maria raised an eyebrow. "And here I was picturing you acting in all the school productions when you were little."

At that, Michael gave a snort from across the table, and Maria turned to him with a frown.

"What?"

"Nothing," Michael shook his head, as he attempted to hide a grin. "It's just that Max was definitely _not_ the school production type."

"Shut up, Mike," hissed Max, shooting him a glare.

On the other side of Max, Liz glanced between him and Michael suspiciously, "Okay, guys, what's going on?"

Michael raised an eyebrow, "Well, let's just say that Max and acting were completely incompatible during high school. In fact, he was a bit of a science geek up until after graduation."

Liz's eyes widened in surprise and she looked to Max, who was now holding his head in his hands.

"You were a science geek?" she wondered with a grin.

Max lifted his head and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay, I admit it… I was a science geek. I had no interest in acting at all until I was eighteen; in fact, when I moved out to L.A. I had been accepted to UCLA on a partial scholarship… I was going to be a Chemistry major."

"No way!" exclaimed Liz with a laugh. "I never would have guessed."

"So what happened?" wondered Maria. "How did you get from majoring in Chemistry to being a big Hollywood film star?"

"Well," shrugged Max. "Something went wrong with the scholarship award and I didn't get as much support as I was hoping for. My parents couldn't afford the full tuition and even if I got a job, there was no way I'd have enough money to cover it, so I had to drop out in the first semester. There wasn't really anything for me in Roswell, so I stayed in L.A., found a job and then Isabel dragged me along to her acting classes. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Wow," murmured Liz. "I never knew any of that."

"Well, it's not something I really feel the need to broadcast to the world," explained Max. "Most people assume that I moved out to California to act anyway so it doesn't seem worth going into all the details."

"I'm surprised it hasn't come up at all though," mused Maria. "Aren't the press notorious for digging up all the dirt they can possibly find on celebrities?"

"I don't know," Max shook his head and gave a small smile as he shrugged. "I guess I just have a really good publicist."

"You must do," piped up Michael then. "'Cause I can think of a few things from high school that the press would have a field day with if they found out about them."

"You keep your mouth shut, Guerin," Max warned with narrowed eyes, as he pointed a finger at his old friend. "Or I might have to tell Maria here about a certain incident in gym class junior year."

"You wouldn't dare!" replied Michael, eyes widening in alarm.

"Oh, you bet I would," smirked Max, cocking an eyebrow and leaning forward across the table. "Just watch me."

"Hey now, you two, stop it," Liz held up her hands between them. "We're supposed to be having a pleasant dinner here. No bickering allowed, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Michael, shooting Max a dirty look. "Whatever."

"Sure," Max relaxed back in his seat, before taking Liz's hand in his and running his thumb across her skin as he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to her jaw. "I'm sorry."

Liz gave him a look that said, 'don't think you can always get away with using your Hollywood charm on me', but she smiled anyway.

Dinner continued relatively peacefully for the next hour, with Michael and Max catching up over cans of beer in the living room, while Maria and Liz chatted in the kitchen. At ten o'clock however, as Liz and Maria returned to the living room and settled down on the sofa, Max's cell phone rang.

"It's my director," he rolled his eyes as he checked the caller ID. "Why does he have to call on my one night off?" He flipped open the phone, "Max Evans."

"Max, hey, I'm glad I caught you," came the slightly harried-sounding voice of the director. "Something's happened."

"What is it? What's going on?" Max frowned in concern.

"I'm afraid there's been an incident… involving Jacob Nicholson."

Although he kept a calm exterior, Max was seething inside at the mention of his co-star's name, "What is it?"

The director sighed, "Nicholson's been arrested on suspicion of rape."

"What?"

"Yeah. Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are."

_I wouldn't be so sure about that_, thought Max, before asking aloud, "What happened?"

"I don't know all the details yet, but apparently some woman is claiming that he attacked her outside a nightclub in the early hours of this morning. The police caught up with Jacob after filming tonight and arrested him."

"Wow," Max ran a hand through his hair as he glanced toward Liz, who was watching him with concern in her eyes. "So, what happens now with the movie and everything?"

"Well, until we know what the deal is with this arrest, we're gonna have to carry on as normal, just with some different scenes."

"And if he's charged?" questioned Max, his heart beginning to pound in his chest as he thought of what had happened to Liz last week… what could have happened if she hadn't been able to get away.

"We'll have to deal with that when we come to it, I suppose. Nicholson's scenes are mostly finished now and any that aren't will have to be re-worked without him."

"Right," he nodded. "Well, thank you for telling me."

"Wait, Max… that's not all," the director spoke up. "The police informed me that someone else also made a complaint against Nicholson the other week, when we were up in Yorkshire. I've noticed the tension between the two of you the last few days… am I right in thinking that person might have been Liz?"

"Well," he looked to Liz again, who was starting to gather what the conversation was about and was watching him intently. "She didn't want it to cause an issue on set, so I agreed not to say anything to you about it, but yes, something happened a couple of weeks ago."

"Damn, I suspected as much," sighed the man on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, Max."

"It's okay," dismissed Max. "And Liz is okay too… but we'd both like to see him get what he deserves. Especially if it wasn't a one-off occurrence and others are getting hurt too."

"Right. Yes, I understand completely," said the director. "Well, I'll let you go now… and we'll see you on set tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Tomorrow morning," he confirmed. "See you then."

"What happened?" asked Liz immediately after Max hung up the phone.

"Nicholson's been arrested," informed Max, turning to look into her concerned eyes. "On suspicion of rape."

"Oh my God," she murmured, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Really?"

"Yeah, apparently he attacked a woman outside a club early this morning and she went to the police. They got him tonight."

"Wow," she breathed, moving closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. Max slid his arm around her as Michael and Maria looked on, their expressions a mixture of shock and surprise. "God, Max, we should have done more to stop him. If only I'd given more evidence or something, he could have been arrested last week and that poor woman wouldn't have suffered."

"Shh," soothed Max as Liz sagged against him. "There was nothing else you could have done, Liz. It's not your fault this happened, okay?"

"I guess."

"Listen to me," he insisted, sliding a finger under her chin and forcing her to lift her head and look at him. "He's been caught now, okay? And if this accusation is true and they find evidence of rape then he's gonna do down and he won't be able to hurt anyone else again."

"Yeah, I know," nodded Liz. "You're right."

"But let's not let this ruin our night, okay? I say we forget all about that phone call for now and enjoy ourselves for a while."

"Sounds good," piped up Maria then, as the heavy moment passed and the tense atmosphere began to lift. She shot Liz a reassuring smile as she added, "So, who's up for a game of charades?"

* * *

"Do you think he'll be charged?" wondered Liz, as she curled up next to Max in bed later that night.

"I don't know," replied Max, running his hand up and down her arm in a comforting gesture as he looked up at the ceiling of Liz's bedroom. "I hope so."

"Oh God, what if I have to testify against him or something?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"I hate this," she decided then. "Everything was going so well and then _he_ had to come along and ruin it all."

"He didn't ruin it all," Max denied with a shake of his head. "We're still here and together. He just… got in the way for a while."

"Yeah," agreed Liz, although she wasn't completely convinced.

Max seemed to pick up on her uneasiness though and his arm tightened around her.

"What's wrong?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I just wish it hadn't happened."

"Me too," nodded Max, pressing a soft kiss against her hair. "But it did and now we just have to move on from it."

There were a few moments of silence, as Max berated himself once again for not being there for her that night and Liz tried to put the incident to the back of her mind and concentrate on her relationship with Max instead.

"So when do you have to leave for L.A.?" she couldn't help asking, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"My flight is March fifteenth," he murmured from above her head. "Two-and-a-half weeks from now."

"Right."

Max's arm tightened around her once more, pulling her close into his body.

"You know I don't want to leave, right?"

Liz adjusted her position, sliding her leg over his as she rested her head on his chest.

"Yeah."

"But I have to go back. I have commitments in L.A. that I can't get out of," he added, trying to reassure her.

Liz let out a small chuckle; he sounded so concerned that she wouldn't understand.

"I know that, Max."

"I just… I don't want you to think that I'm just gonna up and leave and forget about you or something."

Liz slipped her arm around his bare waist, "You don't have to worry, Max. I know it's not like that and I understand that you have to go. I mean, sure, I don't like it all that much, but that's life."

"We'll stay together," he assured her in a confident tone. "I promise."

Emotion swirling inside her at his determined declaration, she just nodded against his skin. Max's hand moved to her leg briefly, before sliding up to rest on her hip.

Liz revelled in the feel of his fingers brushing against her skin as she asked, "So what are your plans for when you get back to California?"

He let out a sigh, "Well, first I have to go into the studio to finish off some scenes for the movie and I've got a couple of TV appearances scheduled after that. Oh, and Isabel's been trying for ages to persuade me to go back to Roswell with her for a visit… I've managed to put her off so far, but I think she's about to reach the end of her tether, so I'm gonna have to go with her soon."

"Don't you want to go back home?" wondered Liz in puzzlement.

"Not really." He sighed, "I mean, of course I miss my family and everything, but it's just that… well, it's hard to go back there now."

Liz frowned, unsure of what he meant by that, but before she could ask, he spoke up again.

"When I was growing up, I was always the good kid, you know? Everyone expected me to go to college and make something of myself academically, but then the college thing fell through and I got into acting instead. The next time I went home after dropping out of UCLA, it was like the whole town had decided I was a disappointment."

"But that's not fair," interrupted Liz, lifting her head to look up at him. "It wasn't your fault you had to drop out."

"Yeah, but not many people actually knew that," he admitted. "I didn't really broadcast the fact that I left because I couldn't afford it. So, the people of Roswell generally just saw me as the college drop-out who gave up on his promising future."

"But look at you now, Max; you're rich and successful. That's hardly a disappointment."

"Maybe not, but Roswell is a small town and everyone sticks together. They see my face all over the papers and the TV and they judge me. I just… God, if it weren't for my parents still living there, I'd never step foot in Roswell again."

"Wow," Liz didn't know quite what to say to that. "I'm sorry, Max."

He shrugged and shook his head, as if to say, 'that's life'.

"Hey, you know what?" he said then, as if a light had just turned on in his head. "You should come back with me. To L.A."

"Oh, no, Max," Liz shook her head, although inside her stomach was doing excited flip-flops in response to his suggestion. "I couldn't. I have my work and my life here in London."

Max gave a small chuckle, "I'm not suggesting you move there or anything… but how about a vacation? I know all about your life here in England now… and I could show you mine in California."

"I don't know, Max," Liz was still hesitant, despite the fact that she would love to go to L.A. with him. "I'm not sure if my boss would let me take the time off at such short notice."

"But there's no harm in asking, right?"

"Yeah, I guess not," she agreed, wanting to be able to say yes, but knowing that it was unlikely that she would be able to get the time off right away. "But I can't promise anything right now."

"That's okay… just think about it, okay?"

"Sure."

Liz looked up at him with a smile, which Max returned as he lowered his head and captured her lips in a deep kiss. Trying to get as close to him as possible, Liz pressed her body against him, her hand roaming his bare chest. Max's hand slid from her waist round to her back as he pulled her up against him and Liz eagerly sank into the embrace. As Max's tongue slid into her mouth, Liz let out a soft sigh, vowing to do whatever she could to persuade her boss to give her some time off work soon.

_TBC…_


	12. Chapter 12

**Part Twelve**

Liz let out a sigh and rested her chin on one hand as she stared at the Polaroid photo she held in her other hand. Last week she and Max had been messing around with her old camera in her flat and they'd taken a number of pictures together. This one here was her favourite: she and Max were curled up on the sofa and he'd reached for the camera, holding it out at arm's length to take a photo of the two of them together. They'd been having so much fun at the time, but now it was just a bittersweet memory of the amazing time they'd shared here in London.

It was Sunday afternoon and Max had returned to L.A. earlier that morning. Despite requesting some time off work to fly back with him for a visit, Liz's boss had stressed the importance of her being present at work until the latest issue of the science magazine was ready to go to press. What that meant was that although she was allowed to take a couple of weeks off to visit LA, she would have to wait until the end of the month to go. She'd been disappointed that Max would have to leave without her, but when she spoke to him about it, he pointed out that waiting a while might actually be a good thing.

For a start, he had several commitments to attend to as soon as he returned to L.A. and would be tied up almost non-stop for the first couple of weeks, so wouldn't have much free time to spend with her. Also, he pointed out that even though the speculation surrounding those pictures taken outside his hotel room had died down now, they would certainly cause a fuss if they turned up at the airport together when he had to leave the UK… especially as Heathrow was one of the busiest, most high-profile airports in the world, and it was best to try to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

Although at the time, Liz had been feeling frustrated with the situation, she soon realised that Max was right about the unwanted attention. The last few days of his time in London had been spent avoiding the press and the scores of fans that had suddenly found out which hotel he was staying in and were spending their days hanging around outside the building hoping for a glimpse of their idol. Then there was the issue of Max going to the airport this morning. At first, she'd wanted to come with him to say goodbye, but he'd insisted that they say their goodbyes beforehand and that she stay at home instead. After he had gone, she understood why… he called her from the VIP lounge at the airport to inform her that there had been paparazzi everywhere when he'd arrived and the entire time, from checking in to reaching the VIP lounge, he'd been surrounded by cameras and fans.

So, sure, it sucked not being able to spend much (or any) time out in public with him while he was here, but deep down she realised that it was for the best. Once the press found out who she was, which probably would be inevitable at some point if they continued their relationship, there would be no peace for them at all. So now she just had to get through the next two weeks without Max and try not to spend too much of that time pining for him.

At least she had other things to take her mind off his absence… like this whole issue with Jacob Nicholson, for example. After the phone call from Max's director three weeks ago, Jacob had been charged with rape and an investigation was being carried out into the assault that she and Max had reported in Yorkshire a few weeks ago. So far, she'd had to give further statements to the police and had been told that if the case went to court she might have to testify. At the time, she hadn't been able to bear the thought of going through it all, but Max had been there with her through it and had assured her that everything was going to be okay. According to the police, Nicholson had been released on bail and it could be several months before the case made it to court, if it did at all, so there really wasn't much more she could do for now but get on with her life.

* * *

"Is there anything else you need, Mr. Evans?" enquired the sugary-sweet voice of his first-class flight attendant. "We'll be landing in L.A. shortly."

Max forced a smile onto his face, as he replied, "No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Very well, then. Enjoy the rest of your journey," she smiled softly, batting her eyelashes at him.

He nodded but had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as she continued to move down the aisle. It had been a long flight from London and already he was missing Liz, who he'd left behind in her flat early that morning after a long, emotional goodbye, and he'd just spent the last ten-and-a-half hours trying to fend off the unwanted attention of his young, obviously star-struck flight attendant. Thankfully, they would be landing in LAX in less than an hour and he would be home shortly after that, so he could finally relax.

For about the twentieth time today, he found himself reaching into his jacket pocket and retrieving the Polaroid photo of Liz that he'd taken in her flat a few days ago. She was sprawled out on the sofa in just a small T-shirt and a pair of shorts, her hair spread out on the cushions, her eyes gazing up at the lens–up at him–in adoration and lust. She looked absolutely breathtaking and his heart clenched once again at the thought of leaving her there in London while he flew back to L.A. alone.

He knew it wasn't her fault that she couldn't join him today – she couldn't get any time off work until the end of the month – but at the same time, he really wished that she could be with him right now. Having said that though, it was probably a good thing they weren't travelling together as he'd garnered a lot of attention from the press and the other passengers at Heathrow this morning and if Liz had been there too, her face would have ended up all over the papers tomorrow morning too. At least when she flew out here in a couple of weeks, she would be able to travel easily without drawing any attention to herself.

He smiled as he remembered their conversation about her trip a few days ago. After she'd informed him that she wouldn't be free to visit for another three weeks and began talking about finding some cheap economy flights for the end of the month, he'd put his foot down right away and had told her the flights were on him. At first she'd protested, saying that she could pay for them herself and that he shouldn't be spending that much money on her, but he'd insisted and had proceeded to purchase the best first-class seats he could get at such short notice. To start with, she'd been annoyed and a little putout that she was essentially being treated like a 'kept woman', but he'd been very persuasive and eventually she'd relented.

"_Flight attendants, please prepare for landing,"_the captain's voice suddenly boomed over the PA system, bringing Max out of his thoughts. With one last smile down at the photograph, he tucked it back into his pocket, dutifully returned his seatback to the upright position and closed his eyes. No matter how many times he'd flown in the past few years, he still got a little nervous during take-off and landing.

* * *

Ninety minutes later, he'd passed through immigration and picked up his baggage and was making his way out to the arrivals lounge. He'd called ahead to his manager, Sandy, who said she would arrange for someone to pick him up for the airport, but he wasn't entirely sure who that was going to be. As he walked out into the arrivals section, he began scanning the waiting crowd for a sign bearing his name, however, it turned out that he didn't need to look for long as suddenly a cry of 'Max! Over here!" rang out from his left and he turned his head to see Anna waving at him from the side of the crowd. With a smile, he made his way over to her and then nearly dropped his carry-on when she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"It's great to see you again, Max, " she grinned as she pulled back to take a good look at him. "Life's been so boring around here without you around."

"Hey, Anna," he grinned genuinely. "What brings you here? My manager said she was sending someone to meet me."

At that, she pouted, resting her hand against his chest, "What, I can't come and meet my friend at the airport after he's been gone for three months?"

Max chuckled and rolled his eyes, slinging his arm around her shoulder as they headed for the exit, "Of course you can… I just wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well, actually, Sandy called me this morning and asked if I wouldn't mind coming to pick you up – apparently everyone else was tied up with other commitments."

Max just nodded, before a grin spread across his face and he closed his eyes as they stepped outside into the warm L.A. sunshine.

"Wow, I've missed this weather," he sighed. "England is just too damn cold and grey in the winter."

Beside him, Anna laughed, "I can imagine. I don't know how you coped all this time without your regular sunshine fix."

"Well, I had a little help to take my mind off it," he smiled secretly.

"Of course, you were… otherwise occupied out there," teased Anna. "How is she, by the way?"

Max sighed, a desolate expression forming on his face, "It is totally pathetic that I miss her already?"

"Yes!" laughed Anna. "You're so whipped."

After his prolonged silence with Anna over the last few months, he'd felt a little guilty for not contacting her sooner and so they had spoken on the phone a couple more times in the last two weeks. Of course, most of the conversations ended up centring around Liz, and Max's feelings for her, and as a result Anna knew a lot more about the relationship than he'd intended on telling her.

"So, I notice she's not with you today. Was she not able to make it back with you?" wondered his friend as they reached her shiny SUV and climbed inside.

Max shook his head, as he closed the car door and reached for his seatbelt, "No, she has to stay at work until the end of the month, but she's gonna fly out here in a couple of weeks."

"That's great, Max," Anna gave him a genuine smile as she started the car and pulled out of the parking space. "I can't wait to meet her."

"Who said I'm even going to introduce the two of you?" Max shot back with a grin.

She gave him a withering look and threatened, "You'd better. I wanna meet the girl who's suddenly turned you into such a moony-eyed sap."

"Hey, I resent that!" he protested. "I am not a moony-eyed sap!"

"Whatever you say, Max," Anna shook her head, as she turned the car onto the freeway, heading for Max's large home. "Whatever you say."

* * *

"Hey, hon, how are you holding up?" asked Maria sympathetically as Liz slid into her seat at their usual table in Angelo's coffee shop at lunchtime the next day. "Did Max get off okay yesterday?"

"Yeah," she nodded sadly. "I can't believe he's gone though… the last three months have completely flown by."

"You'll see him again in a couple of weeks though, right?"

"Yeah and I can't wait to go, but I miss him already."

At her friend's crestfallen expression, Maria scooted closer to Liz and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, "Hey, it'll be okay, honey. I promise."

With a small sniff, Liz nodded and tried to compose herself. It wouldn't do any good to start crying in the middle of the crowded coffee shop.

"Here," added Maria just then. "I got you a hot chocolate with extra cream and marshmallows to cheer you up."

Liz gave Maria a grateful smile, "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably curl up in a ditch and cry yourself to death," joked Maria, in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

It worked and Liz let out a chuckle, "Yeah, probably."

"So, you fancy doing something tonight? Take your mind off the absence of Mr. Evans?" asked Maria, reaching for the discarded newspaper on the next table over and flicking through it. "How about a trip to the cinema? Let's see what's on…"

"I don't know, Maria…"

"Oh, come on," Maria rolled her eyes as she turned the pages of the paper, trying to find the cinema listings. "You can't just stay at home and mope for the next two weeks… oh, shit."

"What?" Liz frowned when Maria stopped on one page, her eyes widening at something printed on it. "What is it?"

"Oh, um… nothing," Maria quickly backtracked, trying to close the paper quickly. "It's nothing."

But Liz wasn't convinced and reached out to stop her.

"No," Liz shook her head. "It's not nothing – what is it? What did you see?"

"Um, Liz, I don't think–"

But it was too late, Liz had grabbed the newspaper from her and her eyes were scanning the page in question.

"Oh my God," whispered Liz, eyes widening in shock.

There in front of her was a picture of Max arriving at LAX yesterday afternoon. His arms were wrapped around a beautiful redhead… the very same beautiful redhead he'd been seen pictured with in the past. The one that Max had denied being involved with back at Christmas, saying they were just friends… only the embrace in the picture looked like they were much more than just friends. Her heart beating rapidly in her chest, her eyes skimmed the caption beneath the photo, _Max Evans and Anna Davies' emotional reunion at LAX Sunday afternoon_.

"Oh, God. This can't be happening," she murmured, mostly to herself. "He told me they were just friends."

"Maybe they are?" piped up Maria just then, trying to offer her friend some support.

Liz turned to her with tears in her eyes, "Does this look like a 'just friends' reunion? I don't think so. I mean, what's she doing meeting him at the airport if they're just friends? God!"

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation, Liz. Look, why don't you call him and ask?"

Liz shot her a funny look, "I can't – it's only like four a.m. in L.A. right now. Plus, it'll cost me a fortune to call America from my mobile."

"So call later."

"Well, I don't know, he's going to be really busy with work now too."

"Hmm," Maria sent her a suspicious look. "It sounds to me like you're just making excuses not to call."

"No," she denied. "It's just… I don't know when he'll be available to talk."

"Right," replied Maria, obviously humouring her. "Just promise me you'll talk to him, okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'll talk to him," nodded Liz, looking back down at the picture again.

She really wanted to believe that there was a reasonable explanation for the photo, but at the same time, as she looked down at the woman's arms wrapped tightly around Max's neck and his free arm around her waist, not to mention the happy expressions on both their faces, she couldn't help the pangs of jealousy and worry that were forming in her chest.

What if she had been wrong about Max all this time? What if she really was just a 'holiday fling' for him? She didn't think she could handle it if that was the case.

_TBC…_


	13. Chapter 13

**Part Thirteen**

It was only six a.m. when Max woke up on Monday morning – much earlier than he would normally be awake on a day off, but then he was still on London time and had jet lag working against him. For several moments, he simply lay in his large, king-size bed, eyes closed and a smile on his face as remnants of his dreams flitted through his mind. In them, he and Liz had been hiding away on a desert island, spending their days soaking up the sun and their nights making love under the stars.

It wasn't until the drowsiness faded and he opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of his L.A. home, that his mood dipped. On the one hand, it felt great to finally be home and sleeping in his own bed, instead of living out of a hotel room, but on the other hand, he was alone here… and Liz was thousands of miles away in London. However, the soft California sunshine streaming in through his bedroom window, in contrast to the drab grey days in England, did lift his spirits a little and with a soft sigh he climbed out of the bed, ready to face the day.

Thankfully, he didn't have any work commitments today – the hard work was to start tomorrow – and so for lack of anything better to do, he headed downstairs to his personal gym for an early morning work-out. It was a bit of a slog to start with, his body not used to his usual intensive routine after being away from home and without his workout equipment for so long, but eventually he got back into it and an hour later, he re-emerged from the gym room feeling re-energised, albeit rather sweaty.

After a quick shower, Max found himself downstairs in his newly designed, state-of-the-art kitchen, his nose buried in the large refrigerator as he attempted to find something to eat for breakfast. Before he'd left London, he'd put in a call to his housekeeper to get some food in for when he returned. However, after spending the past three months eating full English breakfasts and fancy hotel food, he wasn't quite sure that a makeshift breakfast of Cap'n Crunch and Toaster Strudel really cut it anymore. Problem was, he didn't have much of a choice and so he ended up munching on a bowl of the cereal as he leaned against the counter.

As he ate, he looked out of the window, his gaze sweeping across the spacious backyard. The pool was still covered, having been out of use since before Christmas, although the bushes and lawn were still as neat and tidy as ever – he'd asked the lawn guy to keep coming round, even though he was going to be out of the country. He would also have to call the pool guy this week to open up the pool again. Finishing his breakfast, Max rinsed out the empty bowl in the sink and then made his way into the den, flicking on the TV and settling down on one of the plush couches. However, he just couldn't concentrate on the screen this morning… instead he felt completely restless. And he knew the exact reason why – he needed to talk to Liz.

Glancing at the clock, he made a mental calculation of the time in London… eight a.m. in California meant four p.m. in the UK. Liz would still be at work right now… and as much as he was tempted to pick up the phone and call her office, he knew that now would be a bad time for her. With a sigh, he let his head fall back against the sofa cushions; he would have to wait at another hour-and-a-half until she got home from work. Unfortunately, the time passed much more slowly than he was hoping for. He started off trying to relax and focus on the TV, but when that didn't work, he resorted to putting in a call to Sandy, knowing she would be at the office already, to discuss his upcoming schedule.

Finally nine-thirty arrived, and with a grin spreading across his face, Max reached for the phone again and dialled Liz's landline number. It rang once, twice, three times… and continued to ring, but just when he was about to hang up, after the sixth ring, there was a click and a breathless voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," he murmured softly.

"Max?" she sounded slightly uneasy and caught off-guard, and he frowned in response.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Just calling let you know that I got back all right yesterday. You okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah… yeah, I'm fine."

She didn't sound completely fine, but he decided to let it go for now.

"So, um, how was your flight?" she asked then.

"Long, boring and tiring," he sighed, before joking, "And I had to deal with the flight attendant trying to hit on me the entire journey!"

"Oh," her voice was sullen.

Uh oh, that didn't sound good. Something was definitely up.

"Liz?" Max questioned softly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She let out a laugh, one that sounded forced, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Max wasn't convinced, but he let it slide for now, "God, I'm missing you already… I'm not sure I can make it two whole weeks until I see you again."

There was a soft snort on the other end of the line, "Well, I'm sure Anna Davies will be happy to keep you company in my absence."

"What?" he wondered in genuine surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know."

"Liz, I don't understand. What's going on? And what does Anna have to do with anything?"

"Have you seen the papers yet today, Max?"

Oh shit. What had she seen?

"No."

"Well," her tone was frosty. He didn't think he'd heard her sound frosty before; she was usually so playful and unfazed by everything. "Maria and I were having a nice, quiet coffee at lunch, when she picks up a paper and there's a great big picture of you getting all cosy with Anna Davies at LAX yesterday. Is there anything you'd like to tell me, Max?"

Fuck. He rested his head in his hand. What was he thinking hugging Anna at the airport? He should have known they'd be spotted by the press.

"Liz, I'm sorry," he apologised quickly. "It's not what you think, okay? I didn't even know she was gonna be there."

"Yeah, okay," her tone was disbelieving.

"Really," he insisted. "Before I left London, I called my manager to arrange for someone to pick me up at the airport, but everyone she tried was busy, so she asked Anna if she wouldn't mind meeting me instead. Which she did. We're just friends, Liz. I promise."

"Really?" she seemed doubtful. "Because the article in the paper seemed to imply there was more to it than that."

"Liz, you know Anna and I were involved a while ago… I told you that at Christmas," Max told her calmly. "But in the end, it didn't work out and we decided to stay friends."

"Okay…" she still sounded unsure, but he could tell her resolve was wavering.

"It's the truth, Liz," he swore. "She hugged me in the airport because it's been three months since we last saw each other." Despite the seriousness of the conversation, a small chuckle escaped his lips as he recalled something Anna had said yesterday, "She wants to meet you, you know?"

On the other end, Liz scoffed, sounding sceptical, "Really?"

"Yeah… she said she wants to meet the girl who's turned me into a 'moony-eyed sap'," he admitted, hoping it would lighten the situation… and that she would realise that he was telling the truth.

It was working, he realised, when he heard her let out a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a muffled laugh.

"'Moony-eyed sap', huh?"

"Her words, not mine," he defended quickly. "Honestly, Liz. We're just friends. It's you I want. I thought you knew that."

He knew that he'd eventually have to come clean with her about his previous arrangement with Anna, but it was definitely a moot point now that he'd found Liz, and it was something he'd much rather do in person rather than over the phone, especially as she was so far away.

"I do know that, Max," Liz let out a sigh. "And I'm sorry. I'm not usually this insecure; it's just that I miss you too. I know it's only been a day, but life is lonely without you here."

"It's lonely here too," murmured Max softly. "Tell me again why you couldn't come back here with me?"

"You know why, Max," her voice was teasing, but he could detect the sadness in it too. "Believe me if I could have come, I would have."

"I know."

"But I'll be there soon."

"Yeah," he smiled. "I can't wait."

"Me either."

There was a pause, before Liz changed the subject, "So what are your plans for today?"

He broke into a smile, "Today? Absolutely nothing. I actually have a day off. But from tomorrow it's going to be hectic as hell."

They spent a few more minutes discussing his upcoming busy schedule and making tentative plans for her trip over, but then Max's cell phone rang and interrupted their easy conversation.

"Crap," he muttered as he glanced at the caller ID. "Sorry, Liz, I have to go – that's my publicist calling and I have to take it."

"Hey, no worries," she replied, her tone understanding. "I need to fix some dinner anyway."

"Thanks – I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay."

They quickly said their goodbyes and then Max reached for his cell phone to take the call from his publicist.

* * *

More than a week later, on Tuesday night, Liz was curled up on the sofa at home wallowing in a carton of Ben and Jerry's as she waited for the TV advert break to be over. Max had called her yesterday and told her to look out for his interview on Jay Leno, which would be aired in the UK tonight. Although she was eagerly awaiting the interview, which would be on any minute, just the thought of watching him on TV was making her eyes well up with unshed tears and her heart clench painfully. It had only been ten days and even surviving that was hard enough. She wouldn't have to wait much longer to see him now though – she was flying out to LAX on Saturday morning.

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen," came Jay's voice suddenly, interrupting Liz from her thoughts as the show came back on. "Now, you'll all know my first guest from last year's big hit _Blue Murder_. His new film _Love's Complication_, is being premiered here in L.A. next week. Here he is; just back from a three-month stint in the UK, please welcome… Max Evans!"

The Tonight Show band began playing and Liz's heart skipped a beat as Max appeared from backstage clad in well-fitting jeans, a white T-shirt and a casual jacket. She sucked in a breath at the sight of him; he was as handsome as ever and seeing him in the spotlight like this, she almost couldn't believe that just over a week ago he'd been sitting right here on this very sofa… and been naked in her bed. A dreamy sigh escaped her lips as she recalled what it felt like to feel his arms… and his body… wrapped around her. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as he greeted Jay with a handshake and then took a seat in the comfy chair beside Jay's desk.

"Good to see you, Max."

Max nodded and glanced out towards the still cheering and screaming studio audience with a smile as he replied, "Good to see you too, Jay."

"So, then," began Jay when the shouts and squeals finally began to die down. "How are you these days? I hear you've been busy filming in England?"

"Yes, that's right, Jay," confirmed Max with another nod, as he made himself more comfortable in his seat. "It's a new film set in London called _Intelligent Crime_. Should be out sometime early next year, I believe."

"And how was it in England? I hear they don't have the best weather out there."

At that, Max raised his eyebrows and let out a soft chuckle, the sound of which caused Liz to let out a wistful sigh.

"Yeah, it's definitely not the best… especially this time of year, but it wasn't that bad really. I guess you just get used to it."

"Right," nodded Jay, although Liz couldn't quite tell if he was being understanding or just agreeing for the sake of it. "So, um, from what we've heard in the news lately, there were a couple of issues between co-stars on set out there. Most notably, this Jacob Nicholson incident…"

It was barely perceptible to anyone else, but Liz saw Max tense at the mention of Nicholson and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid I can't really comment on that at this time."

"But Mr. Nicholson _was_ arrested for rape, right?" pressed Jay.

Max shrugged, "Again, you've seen the headlines, but it's not my place to talk about it, I'm afraid."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Jay shifted in his seat, before he reached for something on the desk.

"Okay, then, we'll move on," he said quickly. "I have here a copy of this month's People magazine." He held it up to the camera. "Which features their Top 20 Sexiest Men countdown…"

At that, Max smiled in embarrassment, shook his head and let out a small groan as he brought his hand up to his forehead. Liz grinned at his expression.

"…Now it says here that you've been voted number three. How do you feel about that? Is it hard dealing with all this sex symbol stuff?"

"Man," Max chuckled softly, looking uncomfortable as members of the audience began shouting their appreciation. "It's so weird, you know? I mean, growing up, I never thought of myself as being a symbol of any kind. And even now – I've been out here in L.A. for almost ten years now – I can't quite get my head around it all, but then I guess it's not something you ever really get used to."

Jay nodded, "You've been known in the past for playing the field somewhat… you always seem to be pictured on the arm of a beautiful woman…" Max looked sheepish at this, but Jay chuckled. "Hey, I'm jealous here! If only we could all get that much female attention."

Max laughed and shook his head.

"But it hasn't escaped our notice here that we've barely seen anything of you out on the town the past few months. There've been rumours going around that you were seeing someone while you were in London."

"Well," Max shifted in his seat, looking contemplative.

Liz froze in the middle of scooping out some ice cream, wondering how he was going to handle the question. He'd called her on the weekend and they'd briefly discussed his TV appearances and whether or not he should mention their relationship if asked. For obvious reasons, Liz had been fine with the idea of him confirming that he was off the market now, but Max wasn't so sure. He'd explained how important it was to keep your anonymity for as long as possible in this business and he was hesitant to bring her into the spotlight unnecessarily. In the end, she'd left it up to him to decide how best to deal with the inevitable questions.

"Max?" probed Jay, when he hesitated.

"Let's just say that I'm not currently looking to date anyone."

"As in you're not looking to date right now, or as in you're off the market?"

Max shrugged with a small smile, "I've said all I'm gonna say."

Jay looked as if he wanted to probe further, but when it was obvious that he wasn't going to say anymore, he changed the subject.

"Right then, so_ Love's Complication_ is coming out in a couple of weeks, right? Tell us a little about the film."

Liz tuned out slightly as Max launched into a description of his new movie – a mainstream romantic comedy. She already knew what it was about as he'd talked about it a few times with her before he'd left London – apparently it wasn't originally scheduled for release until the summer, but it had been bumped up to early April so as not to compete with the latest Steven Spielberg.

The interview ended a few minutes later and Liz lamented the loss of Max on the screen. He might only be on TV, but it was the only way she got to see him at the moment. God, she sighed, how sad was she… mooning over his pictures and videos in the media like she was a lovesick schoolgirl.

He did look amazing on screen though… no wonder all those women threw themselves at him on a regular basis. At that thought, she couldn't help but let out a girly giggle… sometimes she still couldn't believe her luck – that she actually had Max Evans in her life; that he actually wanted _her_, plain old boring Liz Parker over any one of the amazingly gorgeous, tanned women who lived in L.A.. God, this separation was almost unbearable; even just thinking about him now got her all hot and bothered.

Suddenly, Saturday couldn't come around fast enough.

_TBC…_


	14. Chapter 14

**Part Fourteen**

Liz's heart pounded anxiously in her chest as she stepped off the plane at LAX and made her way through to immigration. It had been two very long, very boring weeks alone at home and now that she was finally here in L.A. she could barely contain her excitement. Just a few more minutes and she would see Max again!

It seemed to take forever to get through immigration, but eventually she breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to collect her baggage and make her way out of the airport, where eyes scanned the huge throng of people waiting in the arrivals lounge. Max had told her he would be sending someone to pick her up from the airport as he didn't want to attract any more attention by coming to meet her himself.

She had to admit though that she was feeling pretty nervous as she looked around for whoever was supposed to be meeting her. This was the first time she'd been to the States and the whole experience had her feeling both excited and slightly apprehensive. After what seemed like a lifetime, she finally spotted a short man in a black suit and sunglasses holding a cardboard sign bearing the name 'Ms. E. Parker' and she let out a breath, heading towards the man with a smile.

"Ms. Parker?"

"Yes, that's me," she nodded in confirmation.

"Welcome to Los Angeles, ma'am," the man smiled politely. "The car is just outside. May I take your bag?"

"Oh, yes, of course," replied Liz, feeling slightly flustered at the prospect of being waited on by this man; she was used to doing things for herself, not having someone offer to do them for her. "Thank you."

She followed him through the arrivals lounge and out into the warm sunshine of Los Angeles. A wide smile broke out on her face as she took in her surroundings. She could hardly believe she was actually here.

"This way, ma'am," the man nodded towards his left and began walking towards a row of cars alongside the airport terminal building.

Liz followed again, shifting her carry-on bag to a more comfortable position on her shoulder as she walked. Her gaze travelled across the shiny cars in front of her and she wondered which one was theirs.

"Here we are," announced the man as he came to a stop in front of one of them and Liz's jaw dropped as she took in the sight in front of her.

This wasn't just any old car; this was a sleek, shiny black limousine!

"A limo? Really?" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. "God, this is too much."

"Hey, this is L.A.," the man shrugged as if that would explain everything, as he opened the boot of the long car and lifted her suitcase inside before walking round to the side of the limo and reaching for the door, gesturing in invitation. "Ma'am?"

Liz smiled and, with a nod, climbed into the sleek car. She didn't want to show it, but she was feeling rather overwhelmed right now. Thankfully, the overwhelmed feeling didn't last for long, as she quickly realised she wasn't alone in the car. There, sitting by the window with a huge grin on his face, was Max.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Liz with a gasp, once more covering her mouth with her hand in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Max chuckled as he shifted across the seat, closing the distance between them, "You didn't think I would spend two whole weeks alone here without you and not be here for your arrival now, did you?"

"But… you said… I thought you couldn't…"

Max grinned, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, before cutting off her breathless rambling with a searing kiss. Liz's eyes slid closed as she felt herself sink into the wonderful embrace. God, he felt so good, his lips warm and soft on hers, his hand burying in her hair, tugging her face towards his as he deepened the kiss. It had been way too long since they'd kissed and now she craved his touch like a man lost in the desert craved water.

"Oh, wow," she breathed when they finally parted. "That was…"

"I know," grinned Max, as he ran the back of his finger down her cheek. "I've missed you."

"Me too," she smiled up at him, lost in his beautiful eyes.

"Um, excuse me, sir," came the slightly awkward sounding voice of the limo driver from the front of the car. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks," nodded Max, not taking his eyes off Liz as he replied and then reached out to press a button. "If you don't mind, we're just gonna…"

He left the rest unsaid, but it became obvious what he meant when the partition separating the driver's seat from the rest of the limo began to close. Liz glanced towards the driver and thought she saw a twinkle in his eye just before he disappeared from view.

"So…" murmured Max, when they were alone and the care pulled away from the curb.

"So…" grinned Liz as she slid her hands around his neck and moved to straddle his waist.

"Hi."

"Hi," she let out a small giggle.

"You're finally here," he breathed, as if in awe.

"Yep," she murmured airily.

"How was your flight?"

"Long… and kinda boring," she admitted. "But first class certainly has its perks… so thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure," he smiled, leaning forward for a kiss.

As he pulled back and looked into her eyes, it suddenly hit her that she was in Los Angeles, sharing a limo with Max Evans and she let out an excited squeal.

Max laughed, his arms slipping around her waist, holding her to him, "What was that?"

"Nothing," she tried to deny, but he raised an eyebrow and she relented. "I'm just excited, that's all. I can't believe I'm here!"

His eyes darkened and he leaned in closer, "Well, you'd better believe it, baby."

Now it was Liz's turn to laugh, "God, that was cheesy."

Max pouted, "Cheesy? You're calling me cheesy?"

"Well…" she contemplated, "…if the shoe fits."

"Hey!" came his indignant retort.

But Liz wasn't listening anymore; instead her gaze was fixed on his mouth; his gorgeous full lips beckoned to her and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"God, I've missed you so much," she groaned softly before pulling his face to hers once more and kissing him with as much passion and eagerness as she could muster.

"Liz…" murmured Max against her lips, his fingers gripping her hips and pulling her even closer so she could feel exactly how much he'd missed _her_.

"Max…" Liz let out a gasp, breaking the kiss as her head fell back and he began peppering her neck with fervent kisses.

Suddenly Max grinned against her skin and he lifted his head to look at her with a playful glint in his eye, "Hey, have you ever done it in a limo?"

"Max!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock as if the idea was scandalous, but then she smirked wickedly. "Of course not… this is the first time I've ever been in a limo!"

He chuckled at that, "So you're not opposed to the idea then?"

"Well…" she pretended to contemplate his suggestion, although if she was honest, the idea of having sex with Max Evans right here in his limo was more than appealing. "In theory, no…"

"But?"

"But," she smiled at him gently, "this _is_ my first time in L.A. and right now I'm missing seeing all the amazing sights because I'm sitting here with you instead of looking out the window."

Max glanced out of the window for a moment before turning back to her with a shrug, "It's really not all that interesting out there anyway."

"Not that interesting?" Liz's jaw dropped in shock. "Max, I'm in Los Angeles! Home of palm trees and beaches and Hollywood and Disneyland… it's like a dream come true that I'm even here, let alone that I'm here with you. You can't expect me to come here and not want to do the tourist thing!"

At her emphatic reply, Max burst out laughing, "Okay, okay, you can look out of the window all you want." He gestured to the seat beside him with an amused grin, "Go right ahead."

"Thank you," she returned with a smile, climbing off his lap and moving to the leather seat next to the window.

"But I'm telling you," Max murmured close to her ear as he slung his arm around her shoulders and settled down beside her. "It's just a city like any other."

"Easy for you to say," Liz stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "You've had ten years to get used to it. I'm an L.A. virgin here."

"All the more reason to do it in the limo then," he whispered in her ear, causing her to giggle.

"Not gonna happen, Evans," she retorted. "At least not on this occasion."

"What, are you telling me you expect there'll be other occasions on which we'll be alone in a limo together?"

"You tell me. You're the big star… don't you guys travel around in limos all the time?" she grinned.

"I'll have you know that limos are only reserved for extremely special occasions, like awards ceremonies or premieres," he replied airily.

"So picking me up from the airport in one is on a par with a trip to the Oscars then, is it?" she asked sceptically, holding back a grin when Max lowered his head sheepishly.

"Um, well, this was kinda the only way I could meet you at the airport without being seen," he admitted softly. "When I flew in the other week, I went home in an SUV."

"Right, okay," smirked Liz with a nod, before turning to look out of the window again.

A wide smile graced her features as they passed palm tree after palm tree along the side of the road. She could see people out and about, doing their shopping and skating along the pathways; there were shiny open-top convertibles and huge expensive-looking SUVs lining the streets and as they were so close to the ocean, even seagulls flying up above. California was so different to England that even though she'd only been here for about thirty minutes, Liz wasn't sure she ever wanted to go back to rainy old London.

"Enjoying the view?" came Max's voice close to her ear as he dropped a kiss to her hair.

"Definitely," murmured Liz happily. "I can't wait to get out there and experience it all." She turned her head to smile up at him, "Will you show me all the sights?"

"Sure," he nodded with a smile, before giving a small grimace. "Although, I can't guarantee how much privacy we'll have while doing it."

"Oh, yeah," her face fell slightly as she looked down at her hands.

"Hey," he murmured, sliding a finger under her chin and lifting her gaze to his. "I'll take you wherever I can and we'll try to stay under the radar," he told her gently, before his lips pulled up into a grin, "but I can't be seen riding around on one of those 'Movie Star Homes' sightseeing bus tours or anything, so if you wanna do that, you're on your own."

She laughed at his mortified expression and joked, "Oh no, Max… if I'm going on a bus tour, you're coming with me. You could entertain everyone with stories of your Hollywood lifestyle. Ooh, and maybe we'd even get to see your house on the tour!"

"No," Max shook his head firmly, although his eyes were sparkling with amusement. "No way."

"Aww, relax, honey, I'm only joking," she smirked, lifting a hand to cup his jaw, letting her thumb run across the small amount of stubble there.

"You'd better be," he warned, though there was no animosity in his tone.

Liz rolled her eyes and pulled his face down to hers, letting her lips brush against his briefly before her tongue snaked out and traced his lower lip. Max's reaction was immediate and he captured her mouth with his almost forcefully as his free arm came around her waist, tugging her closer. The remainder of the journey was spent cuddled up together on the leather seats of the limo, just talking and kissing and watching the streets of LA go by and before they knew it, the car was pulling up to the gates at the end of Max's driveway on the outskirts of Santa Monica. After a few moments, the gates opened and the limo drove inside, pulling up in front of a large house.

"We're here," said Max unnecessarily as the driver got out of the car and began unloading Liz's luggage.

He pressed one last brief kiss to Liz's lips before the door opened and their driver gestured for her to step out into the warm sunshine. Max followed, grabbing her bag and flinging it over his shoulder before thanking the driver and then taking her hand with the intention of leading her towards his home.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

But Liz didn't move; she was too busy staring open-mouthed at the huge house in front of her, as she breathed an amazed, "Wow."

Max turned towards her with a grin, "What?"

"Just…" she struggled for words. "This is where you live?"

"Yep," he nodded. "Come on, let's go inside."

"But… it's _huge_!"

"It's not _that_ big," he gave a sheepish shrug, glancing up at his home.

"Max," she shot him a disbelieving look as she took in the expanse of the white stone house with its numerous windows and palm trees framing the large wooden front door. "This place makes my flat look like a closet. It's unreal."

Max just shrugged again slightly awkwardly before clasping her hand more firmly in his and leading her towards the front door. They entered the house and Liz barely managed to hold back a gasp as she took in first the airy foyer and then the enormous living room, where Max put her bags down and then stood watching her as her gaze roamed the place in wonder.

"You want a tour?"

Unable to form words, she simply nodded and he smiled, "Come on then."

He showed her round the living room first, then the adjoining kitchen, followed by the TV den, which housed a huge flatscreen TV, comfortable leather recliners and sofas and a pool table. Then came his personal gym, the sight of which had Liz raising her eyebrows and making a suggestive comment about a hot, sweaty Max, and after that it the downstairs bathroom, before Max led her outside to the patio, garden and pool, which was now open, the blue water glistening in the sunshine. Last but not least was the upstairs of the house, which had Liz feeling very overwhelmed by the sheer size of Max's home compared to her own… he had eight count 'em, _eight_ bedrooms, four of which had accompanying en suite bathrooms!

"God, Max," she murmured as she entered the master bedroom – Max's bedroom – which was by far the largest of the eight. "This is just insane."

"You like the house?" he asked from the doorway, watching as her eyes swept over the room, taking in everything from the enormous bed in the middle, to the walk-in closet, the massive TV on the wall, and the amazing view from the window.

"It's incredible," she breathed flashing him a smile in an attempt to hide her nervousness. "But it's kind of…"

"Kind of what?" he wondered, closing the door behind him and walking further into the room, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Just sorta… overwhelming," she admitted, before shaking her head sadly. "I don't think I belong here, Max."

"What are you talking about?" he murmured, slipping a finger under her chin and lifting her head to look up at him. "Of course you belong here."

She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, "It's just… my life is so far away from yours. I'm just an ordinary girl with an average-paying job and a small, rented flat, you know?"

He frowned, "Money and nice houses aren't everything, Liz."

She shrugged, still feeling uncomfortable, "Being here in L.A.… seeing where you live… it's just hitting me what your life is really like. Back in London, I could pretend that maybe we weren't so different from each other, but here… God, I feel so out of my depth, Max."

"Liz," Max shook his head, gazing down into her lost expression. "Maybe my life here is… more extravagant… than what you're used to, but I'm still the same person I was in London, okay?"

"Yeah…" she murmured, although she wasn't quite convinced.

"Seriously, Liz," he leaned down to let his forehead rest against hers as his free arm wound around her waist. "I'm just an ordinary guy. I like beer and dirty jokes and hogging the Playstation." Liz gave a small chuckle and he smiled, running his thumb across her cheek, "I never pick up after myself, I'm terrible at doing laundry, I routinely forget my parents' wedding anniversary and my mom's birthday… and I appreciate a beautiful woman, especially when she has a killer mind to match."

He punctuated the last part with a soft kiss to her lips and Liz sighed in response, her heart melting at his words and the intense look in his eyes. As she registered the rest of his speech though, a small smirk appeared on her face.

"You know, apart from the beautiful woman bit, you're not really endearing yourself to me here," she admonished, earning her a grin from him. "You'd better not forget _my_ birthday or important anniversaries."

"Why, Miss Parker," his eyes sparkled and she could see relief in his gaze. "Are you insinuating that there might be some important anniversaries in our future?"

"I–well–I…" she stuttered, her eyes widening at what she'd just let slip from her mouth.

"Hey," he smiled. "Relax. I'm just kidding."

"Ha, ha, very funny," she rolled her eyes at herself.

"But enough with the kidding," he murmured, his gaze suddenly darkening as he pulled her even closer, causing her knees to weaken in response. "I think we have some serious making up to do right now. It's been a very long, lonely two weeks without you."

Liz gasped at his suggestive tone and let herself melt against him as his mouth found hers in a passionate, spine-tingling kiss. Her arms wound around his neck and she unashamedly moved her lower body against his, her stomach tightening in anticipation as she felt the evidence of his arousal pressed against her. Before she even had time to comprehend what was happening, she found herself being lowered onto the king-size mattress as Max began tugging her clothes from her body. It wasn't long before they were both naked and locked in the throes of passion. Their love-making was passionate and frantic and desperate all at the same time, neither wanting to let go of the other until they were both completely satisfied.

Needless to say, it was a long time before either of them emerged from the bedroom.

* * *

"So," started Max later that afternoon as he and Liz sat together at the island in the kitchen eating homemade ham and cheese sandwiches. "What you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"Well," replied Liz, placing her sandwich down on the plate in front of her. "There's tons of things I'd love to do, but it's like midnight for me right now and I'm tired after the long flight… and well, certain other things," she added with a smirk, which Max returned, along with a wink. "So I don't think I'll last much longer."

"Okay," he nodded, with a smile. "How about a quiet evening in and an early night? We'll have all of tomorrow to do stuff instead."

"Sounds great," she replied, returning the smile.

Max leaned towards her then, placing his hand on her knee as he dropped a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'm so glad you're here," he murmured. "I've really missed you."

"Me too," she nodded, kissing him a little more forcefully than he had her. "I'm sorry about earlier… you know, when I freaked out a bit. Can I blame it on the jetlag?"

Max let out a soft chuckle, "Sure, go right ahead." His expression turned serious then, "But I want you to know that it doesn't matter to me where you live or how much money you have… none of that matters when I'm with you."

"Max…" murmured Liz, touched by his words.

"And," he continued solemnly. "I'd hate to think that my lifestyle here has a bearing on how you see me, because underneath all the fame and everything, I'm really just no different to you. I'm just a small-town boy from Roswell, New Mexico."

"I know, Max… I guess I just got a little overwhelmed by everything earlier. I'm sorry."

"Hey," his hand cupped her cheek. "No need to apologise. Why don't we just have a nice, normal evening in? How does pizza and a DVD work for you?"

"Sounds wonderful," she smiled happily. "Thank you."

"What for?" he looked puzzled.

"For everything," she replied. "For making me feel welcome here, for calming me down earlier." She leaned forward to kiss him gently before giving him a suggestive grin, "And for the fantastic sex we just had… it was incredible!"

He chuckled, giving a shrug, "Well, I aim to please."

"That you do, Max Evans," Liz murmured, licking her lips as he eyes drifted down to his mouth. "That you do."

_TBC…_


	15. Chapter 15

**Part Fifteen**

"Max…"

The whispered voice barely registered as he let out a small grunt and shifted, burying his face in the pillow in an attempt to remain sleeping for as long as possible.

"Hey, Max…" the voice continued eagerly, making it hard for him to ignore it.

"Hmmph," he managed, eyes still closed and face still pressed against the pillow.

"Hey, wake up."

There was movement at his side and then he felt a warm body pressing up against him… a warm _naked_ body… and suddenly he was wide awake. His eyes opening abruptly, he turned onto his side to find Liz gazing at him with a smirk on her perfect lips as she snaked an arm around his waist, pressing him against her. A smile drifted across his lips as their eyes locked.

"Good morning," she murmured, leaning forward to kiss his lips gently as her fingers traced patterns on his lower back, making him shiver.

"Hi," he responded, shifting so that his right leg slipped between hers as his hand came up to tuck her unruly bedroom hair behind her ear. "You seem very chirpy for…" he glanced at the clock and groaned, "… six a.m…. damn, so much for sleeping in on the weekend, huh?"

"Sorry," she looked sheepish, but her lips were turned up in a small smirk. "It's the jet lag. My body thinks it's two p.m. right now. You're actually lucky that I slept this late."

"Well, you seemed pretty exhausted by the time we got to bed last night," he teased, remembering their late-night activities just a few hours ago.

"Exhausted, maybe," she conceded, "but I'm also excited… and I have a very regulated body clock which doesn't let me sleep late, especially when I'm jet-lagged."

"Right," nodded Max, trying to keep a straight face at her curious explanation.

Liz narrowed her eyes when he couldn't help but smirk, "Are you laughing at me?"

"No," he replied quickly. "Of course not."

"Hmm," she gave him a suspicious look as she pressed herself up against him, causing his body to react in response. "I don't believe you."

"Whatcha gonna do about it?"

She studied him intently for a moment before flashing a conspiratorial grin, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

His eyes darkened as she moved to straddle him and he managed a throaty, "Why don't you just show me instead, Ms. Parker?"

"Oh, I intend to, Mr. Evans," she replied breathily, lowering her mouth to his for a scorching kiss. "I definitely intend to."

* * *

"Mmm, this is the life," murmured Liz with a contented sigh as she closed her eyes and sank into the warm depths of Max's swimming pool later that morning.

"Yeah," came Max's soft voice followed by small splash as he slid into the water too.

There were a few moments of silence and Liz let herself drift through the water, eyes still closed as she tilted her head up to feel the warm sun on her face. A smile graced her features as she let her body relax, just enjoying the feel of floating in the calm water.

"So," came Max's soft tone from behind her a moment later, causing her to jump and scramble to an upright position in the water.

He chuckled as she spun around to glare at him.

"Shit, don't do that, Max!"

"Sorry," he replied with a cheeky grin as he moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, urging her to sit on his lap in the water. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Liz shrugged and gave a small chuckle as she adjusted her position on his lap to get more comfortable, "God, there's so much I want to see, I don't even know where to start!"

Max shook his head and laughed along with her for a moment, enjoying the relaxed expression on her face.

"Okay, so let's think…" he murmured, his hands gently sweeping up and down her back creating small ripples in the water. "…What's most important for you to do? Like, what would you regret not doing while you're here?"

"Well," she bit her lip, looking up at him shyly. He narrowed his eyes; what on earth could she be shy about? "I kinda want to do all the typical L.A. stuff you see on TV."

"Like what?" he tried not to grin at her vague answer as he moved them both towards the edge of the pool.

"Like…seeing Rodeo Drive," she mused thoughtfully. "And shopping in Santa Monica… ooh and skating along Venice Beach is another. Plus I want to see the handprints and stars on Hollywood Blvd, then maybe a trip to Universal Studios… oh, and I kinda have to go to Disneyland," she looked a little embarrassed at that final admission.

"Okay," smiled Max, his heart swelling with emotion as he watched her getting excited about it all. "Well, let's see. I'm free today, but I have kind of a busy week coming up, with interviews and meetings and things, so I may have to leave you to your own devices for some of it."

Liz nodded and Max wondered for a second if she was unhappy about the fact that he had work commitments while she was here, but her expression didn't give anything away.

"Okay, well I guess it might be better if I did the really touristy things on my own…" she considered. "After all, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to draw attention to yourself by visiting places like the Walk of Fame as if you're a tourist."

"Yeah, that makes sense," he nodded in agreement, before pausing for a moment as he wondered how to broach the next subject. "Uh, so speaking of drawing attention… we haven't really discussed what we should do while you're here."

"What do you mean?" she leaned back slightly, letting her fingers swirl in the water as Max supported her weight on his lap.

"I mean… as much as I'd like to, we can't really hole ourselves up in my house for the duration of your trip," he looked wistful as he spoke, "but if we venture out in public, there's going to be pictures and press attention… we're not gonna be able to go unnoticed for long."

"Right," she nodded, straightening up and placing her hands on his bare shoulders for support. "Yeah."

"So, we need to decide what to do about that," he hedged, his hands coming to rest on her thighs, fingers tracing gentle circles on her skin.

"I know we do, Max," she sighed. "I just… I don't know what the best thing to do is. I mean, of course, I'd love to go public with you, let everyone know that we're together…"

"But what happens when the press get your name and address and start hounding you because of it?" he finished and she nodded in response. "You'll lose all your privacy… and I don't want that for you. It's not fair."

"Yeah," she sighed. "And it's not fair on you either."

He shrugged, "It's part of my life anyway… I don't have a choice anymore. But you do. Right now, you're still anonymous and you can stay that way if you want to, but once we go public, you'll lose that anonymity and the whole world will know who you are."

"Yeah," she murmured again, thoughtfully this time. "But at the same time, we can't just keep hiding away like this, pretending we don't even know each other. I don't want to live like that."

"So what do we do then?"

Liz sighed heavily, "Can't we just go out there and see what happens? I mean, obviously we don't want to draw attention to ourselves, but if we tried to stay low-key and avoid the popular places, maybe we'd be okay for a while."

"Yeah, maybe," mused Max with a slight nod at first, but then he became more resolved. "Okay, how about this: today we'll just go out for a quiet drive; I'll show you some of my favourite spots around here and we'll try to be as discreet as possible."

Liz gave him a small smile, "That sounds good."

"Okay, great," he returned the smile. "That's what we'll do then."

"Whew, I'm glad that's sorted out!" she exclaimed a moment later in a teasing tone. "I was starting to get cold just sitting here in the water."

Max chuckled as suddenly she slid off his lap and began swimming away, making fast movements in an attempt to warm up.

"What, my body heat suddenly not enough for you?"

Liz rolled her eyes and splashed him playfully, "Not when you're as cold as I am, Evans."

Before he could retaliate with a splash of his own, she ducked under the water and quickly made her escape. She swam around the pool for a couple of minutes, stretching her limbs and warming up a little.

It wasn't until she heard a strangled "Liz…" that she stopped moving and lifted her head to find Max now standing at the side of the pool, elbows propped up on the edge as he stared at her with a lustful expression.

With a playful grin, she swam the few feet over to him and in response he sank down lower into the water, feet planted on the floor and knees bent so that he was eye level with her.

"What?" she grinned, coming to a stop right in front of him.

His gaze raked over her briefly before his eyes locked with hers and he gave her that infamous half-smile that made her knees weak every time she saw it.

"Nothin'," he murmured in reply, his voice slightly throaty. "Come here."

Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, Liz shot him a mischievous smirk before moving closer to him and settling herself back on his lap, only this time she was much more aware of his half-naked wet body barely inches from hers. He sucked in a breath as her hands sank into his wet hair and she pulled his face to hers for a hot kiss.

"You know," she murmured, peppering his face with gentle kisses once their lips had parted. "I've never done it in a swimming pool."

"Really?" he managed, his mind apparently more focused on the fact that their lower bodies were currently pressed together intimately than on her words. "Well… I guess we'll just have to fix that now, won't we?"

"Oh yeah," she breathed, rolling her hips against him, feeling how much he wanted her.

"God, Liz…" he hissed out between clenched teeth, his hands moved under the water and gently slid up the length of her torso, not stopping until they reached her bikini-covered chest.

"Max…" she let out a low moan, her head falling back as he palmed her breasts, gently kneading the soft skin as his thumbs flicked across her rapidly hardening nipples.

As he tugged the material of her bikini top aside, Max leaned forward and nuzzled her exposed neck, savouring in the feel of her warm skin against his. Liz shuddered in response, feeling heat pooling between her legs as the sun beat down on their already heated bodies.

"Oh, God," she groaned barely a moment later when she felt his hand slid back down over her stomach and his fingers slip beneath her bikini bottoms. Her hips bucked involuntarily and she cried out breathlessly as his thumb brushed across her clit and in response, she took his head in her hands and kissed him thoroughly.

"Shit, I've missed this," groaned Max gutturally against her mouth. "I need you, Liz."

"I need you too," she murmured, breaking the kiss and pulling back to look into his eyes.

Balancing herself on his lap, she reached down beneath the water to tug on the strings of her bikini bottom, releasing them quickly and pulling the offending material away from her skin. In response, Max's free hand went to her top and freed the ties there too so that she was completely naked in his lap.

"Your turn," she whispered with a smile, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his lips as her hands reached for the elastic on his swim shorts. Obviously eager to be free of them, he helped her tug them down and then kicked them off into the pool.

Liz sucked in a sharp breath as she pressed her body flush against his, her breasts brushed against his torso as her groin met his.

"Yes," she sighed breathlessly as she felt his hands on her hips, guiding her body to where he needed it most.

Her heart hammering in her chest, her eyes slid closed as she sank down onto his length. God, this felt _amazing_. Thank God Max had his own pool!

They moved together slowly at first, savouring the feel of making love in the water, but then need quickly took over and their movements became more desperate, more frantic in an attempt to reach that release that they both so desperately craved. For Liz, this moment right here was total perfection. She was with this amazing, perfect man, having sex with him in his own private swimming pool with the Los Angeles sunshine beating down on them. It was like an incredible dream… and she never wanted to wake up from it.

* * *

"Okay, you ready to go?" called Max from downstairs in the foyer.

"Yeah, I think so," replied Liz, who was in Max's bedroom searching through her suitcase for her new pair of sunglasses. "Just gotta find something."

Turning back to her bags, she scratched her head, wondering where on earth she'd put them.

"Come on, where are you?" she muttered in confusion. "You gotta be here somewhere."

"Everything alright?" asked Max from the bedroom doorway, having come upstairs to see what was keeping her.

"Yeah," she nodded, still gazing down at the suitcase. "I just can't find my sunglasses."

"You're welcome to borrow a pair of mine," he grinned, stepping into the room and crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

Liz shook her head, "Thanks for the offer, but if there's any chance I'm gonna get photographed today, I want to at least look good for the camera… and I'm not sure men's sunglasses are the way to go with that. Plus, I bought these sunglasses specially for my trip."

Max nodded and offered to help look for the offending glasses, but Liz forbid him to go anywhere near her suitcase for fear that he might uncover something in there that she didn't want him to see just yet. Thankfully though, she found them just a couple of minutes later hidden in a pair of shoes at the bottom of the case, and within five minutes, they were out of the house and heading towards Max's car.

Or perhaps that should have been cars.

Liz's mouth dropped open in awe as Max led her into his garage and her eyes fell on its contents.

"Oh my God, Max," she gasped in amazement. "How many cars do you have?"

"Just four," he shrugged, as if it were trivial. "But I only really drive two of them regularly. The SUV," he pointed to a large, black car with tinted windows. "is what I use for work, when I'm headed to the studio or an interview. And the Aston Martin," he indicated the sleek, silver convertible to his left, "is my weekend car. The other two," he waved towards the BMW and Cadillac in the corner, "are just collection pieces really. I don't drive them often."

"Right," murmured Liz faintly, barely even able to comprehend owning so many vehicles. As it was, she didn't own her own car – you didn't exactly need one in London anyway, and when she went home, she just borrowed her mum's family estate. "So which one are we using today?"

"Well, normally I would take the Aston Martin, but the SUV has darker windows and is less conspicuous, so it would probably be better for us today."

"Okay," nodded Liz, feeling slightly relieved that they wouldn't be driving around the city in the expensive, flashy convertible.

"Come on," he nodded towards the SUV, moving over to it and opening the passenger side door for her. "Get in."

She gave him a smile as she climbed into the large car and he shut the door behind her. As Max made his way around to the driver's side, she took a moment to survey her surroundings, while fastening her seatbelt. The interior of the SUV looked new and very expensive. The seats were black leather and appeared not to have a single mark on them, which was such a contrast to the old car her mum owned at home. The dashboard was covered in a multitude of different buttons and gadgets, and she could barely even figure out what they were all for. She recognised a GPS system and a DVD player, but the rest was a mystery.

"Okay," said Max, as he got in, pulled on his seatbelt and started the car. "Let's go."

They drove out of the garage and started down the driveway, but suddenly, Max groaned and cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" wondered Liz.

"There's a photographer down there, by the gate."

"Oh," her heart sank; maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. "So what do we do?"

"Um," Max pondered as he continued to drive slowly toward the gate.

"Never mind," Liz cut in, "I got an idea."

Quickly, she undid her seatbelt and ducked down, sliding off the seat and crouching on the floor.

"Liz?" hissed Max in confusion, as he kept his eyes on the road. "What are you doing?"

"The windows are tinted and they won't see me down here," she reasoned. "So when you drive out, they'll think you're driving alone."

"Liz," sighed Max. "I don't think that's gonna work."

"Why not?" she pouted up at him from her position on the floor.

"Well, what if they follow us? It'll look even weirder if one minute I'm alone and the next you're sitting next to me."

Liz took that in and sighed, moving back to sit in her seat again.

"Okay, fine. I'll stay up here," she pointed a finger at him, "but I'm blaming you if they get my picture."

"Aww," grinned Max. "It'll be alright; I'll protect you."

She just rolled her eyes and shot him a smirk as they made their way out through the gates and onto the street, trying their best to ignore the guy with the camera on their way.

"So, where are we going?" asked Liz as Max drove down a street lined with palm trees… not that that was anything unusual though, as it seemed that every street in L.A. had palm trees along it.

"It's a surprise," grinned Max. "So stop asking questions."

"So not fair," she gave him a mock-evil look, before amusing herself by looking out of the window instead.

She couldn't help but smile contentedly as Max reached forward to turn on some music and then relaxed back in his seat as he drove. She sent a quick glance his way and her heart skipped a beat as she took in his handsome profile. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but that didn't take away from his attractiveness in the slightest. In fact, the combination of the sunglasses and the relaxed smile on his face only served to make him look even sexier than usual. An involuntary sigh escaped from her lips as she realised how at home he was here in Los Angeles, how the California lifestyle completely suited him and how looking back on the last few months, it seemed that London was smothering him… the cold, grey days and drizzly rain preventing him from reaching out and enjoying life to the full.

Hell, if she was honest, London did the same thing to her. Not that she wasn't happy there; she was, it was just that the combination of big, bustling city and constant low, heavy cloud could be rather stifling. Everything here in California seemed much more open and much less constricting. The sky even seemed higher and bigger here because the only clouds up there were tiny and much higher than the ones she was used to seeing every day.

"You okay?" asked Max when she hadn't torn her eyes from the window for a full five minutes.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Just thinking."

"Only about good things, I hope."

"Yeah," she nodded, letting her gaze roam over the view from the SUV. "God, I think I'm in love with L.A."

"Already?" he smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You've barely even seen any of it yet."

"I know," she shrugged, "but there's just like this _atmosphere_ here that you don't get in England. It's so sunny and open… it makes me feel happy just being here."

"The _sunshine_ makes you happy?" he murmured incredulously. "And here I thought I was the cause of your happiness."

"Oh, you are," she assured him, reaching over to place her hand on his knee. "You definitely are; but the sunshine just kind of magnifies that happiness, you know?"

"Yeah, okay," he nodded, although it was pretty obvious to Liz that he wasn't really sure what she was talking about.

"So, are we almost there yet?" wondered Liz when they turned off the Pacific Coast Highway and began driving through more rural terrain.

"Nearly," replied Max with a roll of his eyes. "Just be patient, okay?"

Liz made a face, but remained quiet until they eventually pulled into a clearing in the middle of nowhere.

"Okay," announced Max, turning off the engine and unfastening his seatbelt. "We're here."

She peered out of the windscreen, taking in the vast scenery before her, "And where is here, exactly?"

Max flashed her a grin, as he reached for his door handle, "Only my favourite place in L.A."

Liz was still confused as Max got out of the car and then opened the door for her. She climbed out and then watched as Max grabbed two backpacks from the car before locking it and handing one to her. He slid the other onto his back and then took her hand in his with a soft smile.

"Come on, I'll show you."

Liz just shook her head and with a chuckle allowed him to lead her toward a dirt trail leading up towards the trees. They walked hand-in-hand through the forest for several minutes and Liz took the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery around her.

"Wow, this place is amazing, Max," she breathed, unable to contain her excitement as she spotted the L.A. skyline through a gap in the trees.

He grinned down at her, "Just wait until you see the rest."

"God, you'd never think places like this existed so close to the city," she mused. "I mean, when I think about Los Angeles, I think of movie sets and expensive homes, traffic and smog, fast food joints and fad diets… not extremely beautiful views and idyllic hiking trails."

"I know," agreed Max, "but the area is actually pretty well-known for hiking and outdoor recreation. This trail is nice and secluded so we shouldn't get any unwanted attention here, but other areas, like Runyon Canyon, are hotspots for celebrity sightings."

Liz nodded in understanding, before adjusting the bag on her back and wondering what on earth Max had packed in it this morning.

"So, what exactly are we carrying in these bags anyway?" she asked suddenly.

"While you were getting ready to leave, I packed some food and water for us," he replied, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as they continued to walk. "I thought we could picnic up here today."

A wide smile lit up her face, "That sounds perfect, Max."

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the tree line and Max led Liz across the grass and slightly rocky terrain to a secluded little clearing just over a small hill.

"Okay, here we are," he announced with a grin. "You like?"

Liz came to a stop just in front of him and let out an awed gasp as she took in the amazing view. She could see the whole of sprawling Los Angeles from up here!

"Wow, this is incredible!" she exclaimed, looking up at Max excitedly. "How did you find this place?"

"I came across it just after I moved here for college. I was looking for new places to explore and I overheard someone talking about it with a friend. I came up here just after dropping out of UCLA, while I was trying to figure out what to do with my life and discovered this great spot as I was walking," he explained. "The trail isn't all that popular, so I don't have to worry too much about being followed or spotted. I like to come up here sometimes to escape the craziness that is my life."

Liz didn't say anything, not really feeling the need to, but instead just placed her bag on the ground and took a seat on an area of soft grass, before patted the spot beside her in invitation. Max smiled and settled down on the ground next to her, shrugging his backpack off and then slipping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.

"Wow, this view is amazing," she murmured, snuggling closer to Max as they looked out over the city.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I love it here."

They continued to take in the scenery for a few more moments, before Liz reached for her camera and began taking photos of the city skyline. After a minute, Max offered to take a picture with her in it too and they soon began snapping away, capturing their time together on camera forever. It wasn't long before things began to get silly, however, and Liz found herself laughing loudly as she tried to grab her camera back from Max and he refused to give it to her, instead holding it above his head and looking down at her with an evil smirk. What started as Liz jumping up to try and reach it ended in them rolling around in the grass in the midst of a tickle war.

"Aha, I got it!" exclaimed Liz triumphantly as she managed to pry the camera from Max's hand while distracting him by straddling his waist. "I won."

"I beg to differ," replied Max coolly, although his expression was mischievous as he gazed up at her from his position on his back. "Come here."

Before Liz could react, he had her rolled over and pinned to the floor as he captured her mouth in a deep, slow kiss.

"God, Max…" she murmured breathily when his mouth left hers and began kissing a trail of hot kisses down her neck. "I think… I think we should… have lunch."

"Huh?" he lifted his head and looked down at her in puzzlement.

She smiled at his confusion but then let out a heavy breath, before whispering, "We're in public here."

He shrugged, glancing up at their surroundings, "But there's no one around."

"Even so, we probably shouldn't risk it."

"You're right," Max sighed, dropping one last kiss to her lips before moving off her. "Come on then, let's eat."

The picnic lunch was a casual affair; Max had packed sandwiches, along with snacks of potato chips and dip, fruit and cookies and Liz couldn't help but smile as she watched him tuck into the food eagerly.

"Was English food so bad?" she wondered with a smirk. "I mean, you never ate with this much enthusiasm there."

"Huh?" he turned to her with his mouth full, swallowing quickly so her could answer. "Oh, no… I'm just hungry. This is good food, you know?"

Liz laughed lightly and shook her head in amusement, "Honestly, you spend three months living and eating in a five-star London hotel, but put a homemade sandwich in front of you and you're gone!"

"Well, I need my energy too, of course… what with you here for the next two weeks and everything."

"Really…" Liz's eyes sparkled at his implication. "Well then, by all means, eat up."

As lunch was winding down and Max and Liz settled down together again, Max spoke up about their plans for the rest of the day.

"How do you feel about meeting some of my friends today?" he asked softly, gently running his fingers along her arm as she relaxed into him. "I hope you don't mind but I invited a few people round for a barbeque later this afternoon. If you don't want to though, I can cancel."

"That sounds nice," replied Liz. "I'd love to meet your friends; after all, you know all of mine now… it's only fair I get to meet yours too."

"Okay, great. Barbeque it is."

They remained up in the hills for a little longer, just enjoying each other's company and the fact that there was no one there to disturb them. Of course it was only a matter of time before someone discovered who Liz was, but for now she was content just to take whatever privacy they could get.

_TBC_…


	16. Chapter 16

**Part Sixteen**

Standing in Max's elaborate en-suite bathroom that afternoon, Liz smoothed her hands down her skirt and adjusted her top, trying not to feel too nervous about the prospect of meeting his friends in just a few minutes. Gazing at herself in the mirror, she felt a mixture of appreciation – she knew that this particular outfit really suited her – and apprehension; because while she knew she looked nice, she was about to spend the evening with some of most beautiful people in the world.

Max had told her that Isabel Ramirez would be coming tonight… Isabel Ramirez! She was like the ultimate fantasy of just about every man Liz knew. How was she going to compete with that? Not to mention that Anna Davis would be here too. Despite Max's reassurances, she still didn't quite know what to make of Anna. The woman was gorgeous, there was no denying that, but at the same time, she did believe Max that they were just friends.

_Friends who used to date, though,_ she reminded herself with a sigh.

"You okay?" a soft voice from the doorway startled her out of her musings and she lifted her gaze, her eyes catching Max's in the mirror.

He was leaning in the doorway, clad in a casual button-down shirt and dark trousers, arms folded over his chest as he smiled at her.

"Yeah," she nodded, following his movements in the mirror as he pushed away from the doorframe and made his way over to her.

"Nervous?" he enquired, slipping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Kinda," she admitted softly, as she let her hands cover his and they looked at each other in the mirror.

"You'll be fine," he assured her, gently grazing the side of her neck with his lips. "And they'll love you, I'm sure of it."

"I just… it's kind of scary," she told him. "I mean your friends are all famous… and beautiful; and I'm just, well, me."

"Okay, so maybe you're not famous," he conceded. "And that's a good thing, believe me… but you're more beautiful to me than all those 'Hollywood starlets' put together."

"Yeah, okay," she all but snorted.

"I mean it," he insisted, his arms tightening around her.

"Even Isabel Ramirez?" Liz couldn't help but wonder timidly, hearing his words, but not quite believing them.

"Definitely," he murmured, peppering soft kisses down the side of her neck. "Although she'd kill me for saying that… so don't tell her I told you."

Liz couldn't help but give a small chuckle at that, before they settled into a comfortable silence. She watching their bodies in the mirror as Max continued his caresses and her heart swelled with emotion for him.

"You're the most beautiful person in the world to me too," she murmured softly, reciprocating his earlier declaration to her.

Max lifted his head to gaze at her in the mirror, emotion swimming in his dark eyes, "I am?"

"Well," Liz's lips twitched with amusement. "You already know you're gorgeous… but, yeah, you are. No one else could ever compare."

At her words, he released his grip on her waist and spun her around to face him. He gazed down at her with a heat-filled expression before cupping her chin and capturing her lips in an intense kiss.

"Come on," he whispered when they parted, "they'll be here soon. We should go downstairs."

Stepping back from her, he took her hand in his and led her out of the bathroom, through his large bedroom and down the stairs. They soon found themselves in the kitchen, where Max began checking that all the food was ready for the barbeque later on. As he did so, Liz slipped onto one of the stools at the island and started rearranging the numerous bottles of drink set out on the countertop.

"So, who else is coming tonight?" she wondered. "Apart from Isabel and Anna?"

"Well, I think Isabel is bringing a couple of friends over too," replied Max as he opened the fridge to count the number of beers inside. "Then there's Andy, an old friend of mine from when I first moved out here; Tom, Joe… and I think maybe a couple of the guys I play basketball with are gonna come too."

"Cool."

They continued to set up the food and drink in the kitchen, until the buzzer sounded a few minutes later and Max pressed the intercom button to let the guests in. The first to arrive were Tom Jackson and Joe White, who were also actors, signed to the same agent as Max, but who were still finding their feet in Hollywood.

"Hey, guys," called Max when they let themselves in. "We're in the kitchen."

Liz's eyes widened when the two of them stepped into the room and immediately moved to give Max a high-five and a handshake. They were both young, fit and very handsome, with the typical 'Hollywood good looks'.

"Max, buddy, how's it hangin'?"

"It's good, Tom, thanks," Max nodded toward the stocky blond, as he shook hands with the leaner brunet.

"And who's this then?" grinned Joe, letting go of Max's hand and heading over to where Liz was standing next to the countertop.

She shifted, feeling a bit like a museum exhibit when his eyes appraised her as he grabbed a beer from the island.

"Hi, I'm Liz," she smiled, holding out a hand to him.

He took it, but instead of shaking it in greeting, Joe simply grinned, quirked an eyebrow and raised her hand to his mouth, smoothly placing a kiss to her skin.

"Enchantée, my British beauty."

She couldn't help but let out a small giggle his suave gesture, but then a snort from across the room broke the moment.

"Oh, man, give it a rest!"

"What?" grinned Liz, raising an eyebrow at Max, who was rolling his eyes at his friend. "I think it's sweet."

Tom made a gagging sound from across the room, but Liz ignored him and turned back to Joe again.

"Very nice to meet you, Joe."

"This your new girl, Max?" Tom stepped in then, moving Joe out of the way so he could greet her too. "Nice to meet you, Liz. I'm Tom."

"Nice to meet you too, Tom."

"So, you and Max met in England, huh?" he asked, making conversation as he took her arm and began leading her outside to the patio. "How did that come about?"

"Well, actually," started Liz, glancing back over her shoulder at Max, who simply shrugged and grinned at her. "Our parents are friends and when my mum heard that Max would be in England over Christmas, she invited him to stay with us over the holidays." She laughed lightly, "I didn't even know my parents knew him until I walked into the kitchen on the morning of Christmas Eve and there he was, eating breakfast in our kitchen!"

"Wow," nodded Tom as they took a seat on two of the patio chairs. "That's some coincidence."

"It certainly was," came Max's smooth voice as he stepped out of the kitchen and onto the patio with a drink in each hand. Smiling down at Liz, he handed her one of the drinks, "Here, thought you could use one of these."

"Thanks, Max," she nodded, taking it from him as he handed the other to Tom.

The buzzer sounded again, indicating more people arriving and so Max headed back inside to answer the door. Liz watched his retreating back for a moment, before settling back in the patio chair with a contented sigh as she sipped her as the sound of feminine chatter filtered through from the kitchen and Max stepped outside onto the patio once again, followed by three more people. Once was Isabel Ramirez and she could only assume that the other two, who had immediately headed over to greet Tom, were friends of Isabel's.

"Liz," Max gestured to her and she stood up with a nervous smile, placing her drink down on the table in front of her. "I'd like you to meet my good friend, Isabel."

Making her way over to them, Liz finally glanced up and took notice of the woman standing beside Max… and gulped. Isabel really was even more beautiful and glamorous in person than she was on the big screen.

"H-hi," she stuttered, gingerly holding out her hand towards Max's friend as her eyes took in the other woman's appearance.

Isabel was dressed in a pair of immaculate expensive-looking, figure-hugging jeans with a gold, silky top draped over her shoulders… well, one shoulder really, as the material on the other had slipped down over her arm, exposing an expanse of soft, creamy-looking skin. Her feet were clad in impossibly-high, matching Manolo Blahniks, causing her to tower over Liz, making her feel rather inadequate in comparison.

"Liz, hello," smiled Isabel warmly as she shook her hand. "It's lovely to finally meet you. Max has been telling me all about you."

"Has he now?" letting out a nervous chuckle, Liz looked to Max who only shrugged and gave her a smirk. "Only good things, I hope."

"Of course," Isabel smiled, stepping closer to Liz and linking arms with her. "Now come on, let's sit down… I want to get to know you."

Shooting Max a slightly panicked look, to which he only laughed, Liz allowed Isabel to lead her over to a couple of the sun loungers near the pool, where she began chatting to her about the latest fashions.

The afternoon began pleasantly enough and Liz found herself relaxing and enjoying the company of Max's friends. Isabel was so much more friendly and down-to-Earth than Liz had been expecting and it wasn't long before she realised was a nice person she was. Isabel seemed to have a way of making you feel at ease and, talking to her, it was easy to forget how famous she was. They laughed and joked together, rolling their eyes in amusement when the guys got up to start the barbeque and Joe and Max got into an argument about the best way to grill steaks. It was fascinating for Liz to see Max interact with his friends like this. He seemed so relaxed and carefree and his obvious happiness only served to make her happy too. Every now and then, he would look over to her, their eyes meeting and she couldn't hold back her answering grin.

About thirty minutes later, the buzzer rang again and, leaving the grilling duties to Tom and Joe, Max headed back inside to open the door. A small knot of apprehension appeared in Liz's stomach as her eyes roamed the backyard and she mentally counted off who was here. So far, everyone Max had mentioned had turned up except for his friend Andy and of course, Anna. Sure enough, Max reappeared a few moments later with a tall, lean blond guy and the gorgeous redhead. The guy, who she could only assume was Andy, made his way straight over to the grill, but Anna and Max stayed on the patio. Liz couldn't help but narrow her eyes at how close they were standing, talking quietly in hushed tones.

She couldn't dwell on it for long though, as a moment later, Max left to tend to the food and Anna began walking over to where she and Isabel were sitting.

"Hi, Liz," smiled Anna politely, holding out her hand, her red hair gleaming in the afternoon sunshine. "I'm Anna. It's great to meet you."

"Hi, Anna," Liz nodded, standing up to shake hands with the woman. "Likewise."

"I've been looking forward to meeting the woman who–"

"Turned Max into a 'mooney-eyed sap'?" finished Liz with a grin, somehow feeling at ease with Anna, despite her reservations. "Yeah, I heard."

Anna laughed, "He told you that, huh?"

"Yeah," Liz rolled her eyes.

"It's true though," confirmed the redhead. "He's different with you… and that's a good thing – trust me."

"Oh, um, thanks."

There was a slight moment of unease where no one seemed to know what to say next, but then Tom announced that the food was ready and everyone moved back over to the patio to eat.

Afternoon turned into evening and Liz found that she was thoroughly enjoying herself in the company of Max's friends. She was even warming to Anna, who really did seem like a nice woman. The best part about the meal though, was the fact that, due to lack of patio chairs around the table, she was forced to sit on Max's lap for the evening… well, perhaps 'forced' was too strong a word, but either way, she wasn't complaining.

After dinner, everyone spread out and relaxed around the patio and poolside, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Liz found herself dragged into a conversation about London vs. L.A. fashions with Isabel and her friends, while Max was busy clearing away the food. It was still fairly early, but by nine p.m., Liz was beginning to flag, the eight-hour time-difference still not having caught up with her. Regretfully, she said goodnight to Isabel and the other two girls, then to Tom, Joe and Andy, before heading inside to find Max and let him know that she was heading to bed. He wasn't in the kitchen and she frowned in confusion when she didn't see him anywhere. Walking through the house, she eventually heard voices coming from the den and, moving toward the door, she was about to make her presence known, when the sight before her made her stop in her tracks.

Max was sitting on one of the large couches, but he wasn't alone. Anna was sitting next to him, her elbow propped up on the back of the couch, hand supporting her head as she looked over at him.

"She's lovely, Max. Really," said Anna with a smile, as she lifted the wine glass in her other hand to her lips. "I like her."

"I like her too, Anna," he replied, the tender expression on his face making Liz's heart skip an excited beat. "A lot."

"Just like?" enquired the redhead. "Or is it more?"

"Well," Max gave a small grin. "It's certainly heading that way."

_For me too_, thought Liz with a grin of her own as she pressed her side against the doorframe, so as not to be seen.

"You know, I really missed you when you were gone," admitted Anna, taking another sip of wine. "When you first told me you'd met someone I kinda… well, I was jealous."

"You were?" wondered Max, raising an eyebrow in what looked like amusement. "But you knew that–"

"Yeah, I know," nodded Anna, leaving Liz wondering what exactly they were talking about. "But it still didn't stop me from hoping I might still get to experience that amazing body of yours one more time."

At that, Liz frowned in confusion, her heart suddenly starting to pound anxiously in her chest. What was going on here? She'd thought Max had told her the truth when he'd said they were just friends, but the way Anna was talking right now, it sounded like maybe that wasn't the case.

"Anna," Max shook his head, with a hint of a smile. "We agreed that we would stop if either of us got involved. You knew that."

"Yeah, I know," she nodded slowly. "But I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part. You're my best friend, Max… I guess kinda thought you'd always be there, you know?"

"Hey, come here," murmured Max, moving to slip his arm around her shoulders and hugging her close. "You'll find someone, you know. Someone you'll love more than

life itself who you can share your life with. It won't always be like this."

Suddenly feeling like she was intruding on a private moment, and not really knowing what to make of the conversation she'd just overheard, Liz stepped away from the door. She was tempted to walk right in there and demand to know what exactly Max hadn't told her about Anna, but at the same time, she was tired and a little tipsy and she just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. Careful not to make any noise, she tiptoed up the stairs and into Max's bedroom. Undressing quickly, she slipped into his warm bed and settled down against the fluffy pillows. Tomorrow she would talk to Max properly about Anna, but right now, she just needed to sleep off the jet-lag.

* * *

Max pressed a soft, platonic kiss to the top of Anna's head before releasing her from his arms and moving to stand up from the couch.

"You okay now?" he asked, holding out his hand to help her up.

"Yeah," nodded Anna, standing up and smoothing down her skirt. "Thanks for the support… I guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself right now. I mean, you've found this amazing girl, who is just perfect for you, I might add, and here I am, still alone."

"Like I said: it won't be for long, I'm sure of it," he grinned. "Come on, I'd better go and save Liz from Isabel's group of gossips out there."

He and Anna headed out of the den and through the kitchen to join everyone else in the backyard. Once outside, Max made a beeline for Isabel, but stopped short when he realised Liz wasn't with her any more.

"Hey, ladies," he shot them a devilish grin, "have any of you seen Liz around?"

"Hey, Max," smiled Isabel warmly, before shaking her head. "Liz just headed up to bed a few minutes ago… said the jet-lag was gonna take over her body if she didn't get some sleep soon."

"Oh, okay," Max glanced back at the house, wondering for a moment why she hadn't come to say goodnight to him. "Thanks, guys."

"Look," said Isabel then, standing up. "Maybe we should head off now; call it a night."

"Oh, you don't have to go," he shook his head. "It's still early – you're welcome to stay for a while longer."

"It's okay, Max," Isabel shook her head. "I have to meet with my agent in the morning anyway." She turned to her friends, "You girls ready to head out?"

They nodded and grabbed their purses, before the three of them bid Max goodnight and made their way back through the house."

Tom and Joe were next to get going, thanking Max for a great evening before getting into Tom's car and pulling out of the driveway, leaving just Max, Anna and Andy to begin clearing up the patio.

"Liz seems like a really great girl," acknowledged Andy as he helped Max carry several empty beer bottles into the kitchen, while Anna excused herself to go to the bathroom. "Perfect for you, in fact."

"Yeah?" Max looked over at his oldest L.A. friend with a small smile. "You think so."

"Definitely," Andy nodded. "She's like a breath of fresh air. Not to mention that _accent_."

His friend wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Max found himself laughing in response.

"Yeah, the accent _is_ pretty hot," he agreed with a grin. "But, she's just… she's so different from anyone else I've ever met. She's kind of… amazing."

"Yeah," agreed Andy, as they headed back outside to clear away the remainder of the food. "Not that there's anything wrong with the women out here, mind you, but it must be nice to be with someone who's not all about the fame and the money and the plastic surgery."

"You're right, there," laughed Max, collecting up various plates and dishes.

"I'm glad you've found Liz, you know," murmured Andy, as they retreated back into the kitchen again. "Kinda wish I was that lucky, though."

At that, Max frowned and looked over at his friend to find his expression somewhat sombre, "What's up? Things not going well with you and that girl… Karen, was it?"

Andy gave a small snort and shook his head, "Nah, man, that ship has sailed. It didn't work out."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he frowned in concern.

"Don't worry about it," his friend dismissed with a wave of his hand. "It wasn't going anywhere anyway."

"So, any other potential dates on the horizon?"

"Nah," Andy shook his head, before stopping and seeming to contemplate something. "Well… there's kind of–"

He stopped abruptly as Anna reappeared in the kitchen.

"Hey, Andy, I'm gonna have to get going in a minute. You still want a ride home?"

"Oh, um, sure, Anna," Andy stumbled over his words slightly, while Max simply looked on in amusement. "T-that would be great."

"Cool," Anna shot him a smile, before moving across the room and out to the patio to grab her purse.

"What?" muttered Andy self-consciously, as Max folded his arms and looked at him suspiciously.

"Nothin'" he shook his head, although he had to hide a smirk at his friend's suddenly uncomfortable stance; seemed like Anna had an admirer already.

They left together ten minutes later and Max sighed as he tidied away the last of the barbeque remnants, before heading upstairs for bed. A soft smile graced his lips as he thought about Liz sleeping in his bed just a few feet away; he almost couldn't believe she was really here and he was going to do everything possible to make the next two weeks last as long as possible.

Entering his bedroom, Max found the room dark, although he could just about make out the silhouette of Liz lying beneath the covers of his large bed. With a quick glance and a smile in her direction, he headed for the en-suite bathroom to get ready for bed, brushing his teeth and then stripping down to his boxers and a grey T-shirt, before walking back into the bedroom again. Careful not to disturb Liz, who was sleeping on her side, her back to him, he climbed into bed and shifted so he could slip his arm around her waist, spooning behind her. She shifted and let out a small sound at his touch and he couldn't resist nuzzling her neck and dropping a soft kiss to her warm skin.

"Hmm," she sighed, before shifting in his arms and lifting her head to look at him sleepily.

"Hey," he whispered with a smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"S'okay," she murmured, turning to face him now. "I was just dozing."

"You okay?" he asked quietly, rolling onto his back and pulling her with him so she could snuggle up at his side. "I didn't realise you'd gone to bed until Isabel told me."

"Oh, I was going to tell you…" she trailed off uncertainly and Max frowned.

"But?"

"Well," she shifted uncomfortably, her fingers tracing gentle patterns on his shirt-covered chest. "I came inside to find you, but you were with Anna in the den."

"Oh," murmured Max. "Well, you should have come in and told me anyway."

"Should I?"

There was something odd in her tone, but Max couldn't quite figure out what.

"Max…?" she murmured after a moment of silence. "What's really going on with you and Anna?"

At her question, Max's heart sank and he closed his eyes; she must have overheard part of his conversation with Anna earlier.

"I mean, I know you said you were just friends," she continued softly. "And I believe you, but I heard some of your conversation in the den… and it sounded like maybe there was more to the story than that."

"Liz…" started Max, lifting a hand to his forehead as he cursed himself for not thinking to set things straight earlier. "I'm sorry… I should have told you in the beginning, but I didn't think it was important, especially as it was over anyway…"

"_What_ wasn't important?" her tone was strained and he could feel her body tense slightly.

"I told you the truth when I said Anna and I were just friends," he explained. "We hung out, went for coffee… she accompanied me to premieres if I didn't have a date…"

"But?"

"But," he conceded, closing his eyes briefly. "Sometimes we would, uh… hook up… occasionally."

"Hook up?" she murmured, making a face. "You mean like… 'fuck buddies' or something?"

"No, not…" Max sighed heavily, knowing there wasn't really a nicer way to put it. "Well, kinda… something like that, yeah. But we always agreed that if either of us met someone else, we would stop. And we did… the moment I laid eyes on you, it was over."

"Right," her voice was deceptively calm. "Okay."

"Liz?" he wondered in concern when she sucked in a harsh breath. "You okay?"

She let out a soft snort, "Oh, yeah, I'm just peachy."

"Liz," Max shifted from beneath her and turned onto his side so that he could at her properly, albeit in the darkness of the bedroom. "I didn't tell you because it was in the past. Anna is my friend, but I don't have feelings for her, other than in the friend category."

"Well, you seem to have enough feelings for her to keep sleeping with her," she responded bitingly.

"Fine," Max sighed. "I won't deny that she's attractive, okay, but it was just two single friends seeking comfort in each other every now and then. That's all."

"And what about Anna? Does she feel the same way about it?" her voice was timid now.

"Yes, she does," Max was quick to assure her. "Whatever we had before I met you is over now. And she likes you a lot, Liz… there's no hard feelings there, I promise." He paused for a moment, before continuing, "Besides, I'm pretty sure Andy's got a thing for her… and I don't think she'd be all that opposed to him either."

Liz nodded hesitantly, "Right."

Max reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, "Are we okay?"

"I guess so," she murmured after a slight pause. "But you should have told me this earlier… like maybe before I met her tonight."

"I know, and I'm sorry," he apologised quickly. "I really didn't mean for it to become an issue… I just figured that since the whole thing with Anna became moot after I met you, that it wasn't even worth mentioning. You're my girlfriend, Liz, not her."

Liz nodded, "But as your girlfriend, I think I have a right to know what I'm dealing with when it comes to friends of yours that you've slept with."

Her tone was light, but Max could see the underlying tension in her face.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"So, any other 'friendly relationships' I should know about?" she asked then. "No secret flings with Isabel Ramirez?"

At that, Max couldn't help but snort, "Oh, God no!"

"Well, okay then," she seemed slightly surprised at his amused outburst.

"Sorry, but Isabel's one of my oldest friends… that would just be weird," he rolled his eyes. "I mean, this is the girl who peed in my parent's pool when we were seven!"

"Okay," she gave a tentative smile. "I get it."

"We okay now?" he wanted to make sure everything was good between them before they went to sleep.

"I think so," she nodded, shifting closer to him now. "But promise me you won't keep stuff like this from me anymore?"

"I promise," he smiled gently, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "So long as you promise do the same for me?"

"I promise," she smiled. "Although, there's not all that much to know."

He grinned, "I find that hard to believe; a beautiful woman like you."

She glanced down, "You'd be surprised."

"Hey, come here," murmured Max, reaching out to slip an arm around her waist and tug her closer so that her head was resting against his chest. "You underestimate yourself, Liz Parker."

When she nodded against him, he smiled and kissed the top of her head, before rolling onto his back again and letting her settle beside him. They lay together in comfortable silence for several long moments, before Liz finally relaxed against him, her breathing evening out as she drifted off to sleep. Max sighed softly, hoping that she really did understand that Anna really was just his friend now and nothing more… and he had no plans of letting Liz go any time soon.

_TBC…_


	17. Chapter 17

**Part Seventeen**

Liz couldn't help feeling excited as she waited outside the tour bus company office on Hollywood Blvd… she was about to take part in the most touristy thing you could do here: the Grand Tour of Los Angeles! Max was going to be doing interviews and photo shoots all day, so she'd decided to take the opportunity to do the tourist thing today without him. At first, she'd wanted to be completely independent, so that she wouldn't draw attention to the fact that she was staying with Max, but then he pointed out that a cab fare from his house to Hollywood Blvd would be pretty expensive and insisted that he get someone to drive her there instead.

The tour guide soon appeared and Liz filed onto the small coach with the rest of the group of people standing in line. The driver introduced himself as he pulled away from the depot and Liz let herself relax back in her seat as they began driving down Hollywood Blvd.

"Hi there."

She looked to her side to find a young guy with shaggy blond hair smiling at her from the seat next to her.

"Hi," she smiled.

"I'm Ian," he introduced in a Northern English accent, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Liz," she replied, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You're from England too, then?" he grinned when she nodded. "First time in L.A.?"

"Yeah, I just got here on Saturday."

"Here on your own?" he wondered with a friendly smile.

"Not exactly," replied Liz. "I came to visit my boyfriend."

"He not here with you today?"

"No," she shook her head, trying not to grin at the thought of Max coming along on a bus tour with her. "He had to work today, so I decided to come and see the sights by myself. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm here on my own too," he replied. "But I'm only in L.A. for a few days – it's my final stop on a round-the-world ticket. I just flew here from Hawaii last week, and before that, I was travelling around Australia and New Zealand."

"Wow," grinned Liz. "Did you have a good time there? I went to Australia and New Zealand on my Gap Year before uni."

"Yeah, I did," nodded Ian. "It was really good. So, how are you liking L.A. so far?"

"Oh, it's really great," she grinned. "I'm loving the weather."

"Yeah, me too," chuckled Ian. "Certainly beats rainy old England, huh?"

"Oh yeah, definitely."

Just then, the voice of the tour guide boomed over the bus tannoy system, halting their conversation as the man began a commentary of the roads and buildings they were passing through. Turning her attention to the window, Liz relaxed back with a happy smile as she took in the sights of the city.

* * *

Max sighed with relief when his morning photo shoot finally came to an end. Usually he didn't mind these things, but today his heart just wasn't in it… all he could think of was that he was missing spending precious time with Liz today and that she was out there enjoying herself while he was stuck in here with his work commitments.

"Okay, Max, you ready to head over to the hotel for your afternoon interviews?" asked Jane, one of the PR girls, as she walked over to him, clipboard in hand. "You have twelve scheduled for this afternoon."

"Sure, Jane," he forced an enthusiastic-looking smile onto his face. "Bring it on."

"Great," she smiled back, before reaching for something on her clipboard and handing it to him. "Although… I think you might want to see this before you go."

"What is it?" he asked with a slight frown, taking what looked like a magazine from her, before glancing down at the page before him. "Oh."

His heart sank as he realised what he was looking at; there in front of him, on a whole page spread entitled 'Evans' New Secret Love Finally Revealed', was a selection of pictures of him and Liz.

"Shit," he swore quietly, shaking his head in disappointment.

The first picture wasn't too bad: it was of them leaving his house yesterday in the SUV, although the tinted windows thankfully didn't show either of their faces in detail. The next couple of pictures however, were less pleasing; apparently they hadn't managed to completely lose the paps yesterday and now they were paying the price: one of the photos showed him and Liz sitting together up on the hill, talking quietly in what looked like an intimate, albeit fairly innocent, moment, but the other was even more damning… the goddamn photographer had managed to catch them in the middle of their heated, post-tickle-war embrace – they were lying on the ground, his body covering hers as they kissed. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the final two pictures showed Liz sitting on his lap as they laughed and joked with his friends at the barbeque last night.

"Fuck it!" he seethed, abruptly shoving the magazine back towards Jane again. "Those Goddamn bastards were at my house, invading my privacy." He looked up at her, "I thought we'd sorted this problem out before?"

"I know, Max and I'm sorry," she apologised, despite it not being her fault at all. "I'll get onto the security team, okay? See what we can do about getting the paps away from your home. But right now, you need to figure out what you're going to say to the press about these pictures… after all, it's bound to come up in the interviews today."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed with defeat. "I was just hoping to put this off for a while longer." He stood up then, "Excuse me for a moment, I just need to make a phone call."

Moving to a quiet corner, he dialled the number of the cell phone he'd lent to Liz to use during her stay. He knew that she was busy being a tourist today, but he didn't feel right facing the press in regards to their relationship without talking to her about it first.

* * *

The tour bus stopped at the L.A. Farmer's Market and the driver gave them thirty minutes to look around and grab some lunch. Liz and Ian climbed off the bus together and then headed over to the food stands to buy some sandwiches. They ate in comfortable silence, occasionally pausing to discuss some of the things they'd seen on the tour so far. After they'd eaten, a few minutes before they were due back on the bus, Ian stopped for a toilet break and as Liz waited outside in the market area, she felt the phone in her pocket vibrating. She pulled it out with a grin, knowing that Max would be the only person calling her.

"Hello?" she answered with a smile.

"Hey, Liz, it's me," he answered.

"Hey, what's up?" she grinned into the phone. "I'm having the best time today; I've seen so much already."

"That's great, Liz," he sounded distracted and the smile slipped from her face as she frowned slightly in confusion. "But there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?"

"One of the PR girls just handed me a gossip magazine," he said with a sigh. "There's a whole page of pictures in there… of us."

"What?" she closed her eyes as her heart dropped. "How?"

Of course, she'd been expecting there to be pictures eventually, but she didn't think it would happen this soon, especially as they'd been careful to avoid the press so far.

"I think we were followed to the hill yesterday… they have photos of us having lunch… and doing other stuff."

"Oh, God," she murmured softly, glancing around her surroundings as she spoke.

"There's also pictures of us with my friends last night too… on the patio."

"What?" her eyes widened in shock. "How did they get onto your property?"

"I don't know," he sighed on the other end of the line. "I'm getting my security people on it though."

"Right."

"Here's the thing though, Liz: I have about a dozen interviews to get through this afternoon, and these pictures are bound to come up at some point. I wanted to see what you thought about it first."

"Well," Liz exhaled slowly. "I guess, you're gonna have to say something, right? I mean, we can't hide this forever."

"Yeah, I know," he admitted. "Okay, so if they ask, I won't deny it… but I'm not going to say more than I have to."

"Okay."

There was a pause before he said, "I miss you, you know."

Liz felt herself relax slightly, as she gave a small chuckle, "Max, you only saw me about four hours ago."

"I know, but this day is just totally dragging."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "But I'll be back in a few hours, okay?"

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Look, what time does your tour finish? I'll have the driver come and pick you up from the depot when you're done."

Liz glanced at her watch, "We're supposed to get back by four."

"Okay, I'll have someone there waiting for you."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"No problem," he returned. "I gotta go now, though. Have fun and I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye."

She couldn't help but smile to herself as she hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Hey, everything okay?" asked Ian as he made his way back over to her from the restrooms.

"Yeah, I'm great," she replied with a smile, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Shall we head back to the bus?"

"Okay."

They climbed aboard the bus and took their seats once more, making small talk while the tour guide waited on the last few people to return before driving on to their next destination. Three hours later, after driving through Beverly Hills, stopping for half an hour in Venice Beach and then making a quick stop at Marina del Ray, the tour bus arrived back at the depot again.

As she stepped off the bus, Liz let a smile spread across her face as she looked around for the car Max was sending to meet her.

"So, it was great to meet you, Liz," said Ian, as he came up to stand beside her.

"You too, Ian," she replied, the smile still on her face. "Hope you have a great trip back to the UK."

"And I hope you have a wonderful time here with your boyfriend," he said, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Bye."

"Thanks," she nodded. "Bye."

She watched as he walked away and down the road, before turning back to see if her ride was here yet. It was only a couple of minutes before she spotted the now familiar car and David, the driver, standing beside it… the same man who'd picked her up from the airport on Saturday. Flashing him a quick smile when he gestured towards her, she made her way over to the car and climbed inside when he opened the door for her.

"Good day, Ms. Parker?"

"Yes, thank you," she smiled.

He closed her door and then got into the car himself, "Well, let's get going then, shall we?"

David started the car and they began driving through the streets of Los Angeles. Liz relaxed back in her seat and watched the world go by for a few minutes, but after a while she realised they were going in the wrong direction and she leaned forward to speak to him.

"Hey, David, aren't we supposed to be heading back to Max's house?"

"Sorry, ma'am," he shook his head. "I have strict instructions _not_ to take you back home just yet."

"How come?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information," he murmured secretively. "Mr. Evans' orders."

"Really?" Liz couldn't stop a smirk from tugging at her lips as she wondered what exactly Max was planning. "Well in that case, carry on."

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up at the back entrance of an unfamiliar building and Liz frowned in confusion when David helped her out of the car and gestured towards a non-descript door in front of her.

"What's going on?" she wondered, both intrigued and confused at the same time.

"You'll see," smiled David as he rapped on the door and a moment later, they were greeted by a smiling man in a waiter's uniform.

"Welcome to _Il Cielo_. This way, please, madam," the man ushered her inside, leaving David to take the car back home.

Liz's eyes widened in awe as she found herself being led through a corridor to a beautiful outdoor garden restaurant; however, instead of leading her to a table in the main seating area, the waiter continued walking across the patio and up a small flight of stairs to a more secluded section. Any confusion she'd had about what was going on quickly vanished as soon as she stepped round a long curtain and grinned when she found Max sitting at a small, candlelit table in a private corner.

"Max," she gasped, making her way over to him and sliding into the seat beside him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned forward and kissed him happily. "What's all this?"

He grinned, his arm slipping around her waist as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck, "I wanted to take you out for dinner."

"Really? This is okay?" she wondered, glancing around to see that they were alone, save for the waiter.

"Yeah," he nodded with a grin towards the waiter. "I know the owners. No one will bother us here."

Stepping forward, the waiter nodded in agreement, "That's right, sir, madam, you're perfectly safe here. Can I get you something to drink?"

Max ordered a bottle of wine and a basket of bread for them to share and once the waiter had left, Liz pulled her chair closer to Max's as they got settled at the small table.

"It's really lovely in here," commented Liz with a soft smile. "Great choice."

"Yeah," replied Max, as he let his fingers slide through her hair. "It's one of my favourite restaurants. I don't come here as much as I'd like to though, because although the staff are great at keeping the press away, I don't want to draw attention to the place by coming here too regularly."

"Makes sense," nodded Liz, as the waiter reappeared with their bread and wine and then took their food order. "So, what's all this in aid of?"

"Does it have to be in aid of anything?" wondered Max. "I realised today that I've never taken you out for dinner before… and I knew _Il Cielo_ was the perfect place to go and not be noticed." He smirked suddenly, "Plus, this is supposed to be the most romantic restaurant in L.A."

"Is it now?" Liz raised an eyebrow cheekily, before her expression turned thoughtful, "Speaking of being noticed, what happened in your interviews today?"

Max sighed, reaching for his wine glass and taking a sip, "Well, it could have been worse, but I did have a few questions about 'the mysterious brunette I was seen cosying up to yesterday'."

"What did you say?"

He shrugged, "Just that I am seeing someone new, but that I didn't want to discuss it further right now. They don't have your name or anything yet though."

"That's good," she breathed out a sigh of relief.

His expression suddenly became serious, "It's only going to get worse from here, though, Liz. The media attention is only just beginning and if we're not careful, things are going to get out of hand."

"I know," she nodded in agreement.

"I was thinking though that maybe we should just get it all out there sooner, rather than later."

"Right…" murmured Liz, wondering where exactly he was going with this.

"The premiere of my new movie is on Thursday night," he continued slowly. "And I'd love it if you would accompany me… as my date."

"Really?" she sucked in a startled breath.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "It would be like our official 'unveiling', if you will. I can introduce you to the press as my girlfriend and that way we'll be in control of the situation. If we play our cards right and cooperate with the paps at official events, we might be able to maintain some kind of privacy from the media during the rest of the time."

Liz could only nod in response as she took in his suggestion.

"Look, I understand that this is a big thing for you, so I completely understand if you don't want to, but I just thought it might be a good opportunity."

"No," Liz shook her head, allowing a smile to break out on her face. "I want to… in fact, I'd _love_ to go to the premiere with you!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," her smile widened as a feeling of excitement suddenly shot through her. "Oh my God, I'm going to a Hollywood movie premiere! This is so cool."

Beside her, Max chuckled and tightened his grip on her waist, holding her closer, "Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

"Oh God, what am I going to wear?" Liz murmured then. "I didn't bring anything fancy enough for a premiere… I don't think my favourite dress from Jane Norman is quite gonna cut it, somehow. Oh, and what about my hair–"

She didn't get any further as Max suddenly cut off her rambling with a breathtaking kiss. Her rant cut short, Liz found herself sinking into his embrace, as she sighed against his mouth and let her fingers tug at his hair.

"You okay now?" asked Max with a smile when he pulled away a few moments later.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied breathlessly.

"Don't worry about a thing, okay?" he told her firmly. "I'll get Isabel on it for you… she never passes up an opportunity to shop and she has all these stylists to get her ready for big events – I'm sure she'd love to help out."

"Really? That would be amazing," smiled Liz happily. "Tell Isabel I'll be eternally grateful to her if she can help me out."

"I will," he grinned.

The waiter chose that moment to reappear with their food. Liz eagerly tucked into the delicious meal, moaning in appreciation at the amazing mixture of flavours and textures. She looked over at Max as he savoured his own dish and she sighed in contentment as she realised how at home she felt here with him. If only she could stay here forever.

_TBC…_


	18. Chapter 18

**Part Eighteen**

It was the early hours of the morning and Liz was tossing and turning restlessly in bed, trying her best to get back to sleep… but alas she was still not quite over the jet lag and her body was telling her it was time to get up, despite it only being three-fifteen a.m. With a frustrated sigh, she tugged off the covers and slid out of Max's bed, careful not to disturb him in the process. She reached for one of his discarded T-shirts and pulled it over her head, before slipping on some socks and padding out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Grabbing a glass from the kitchen and filling it with water, she was about to head into the den when she noticed Max's laptop resting on the kitchen table. Remembering that she hadn't checked her emails since leaving the UK and that Max had said she was welcome to use the computer whenever she needed to, she reached for the laptop and carried it into the den with her. Taking a seat on his comfortable sofa, she turned on the TV, flicking through the channels while she waited for the computer to start up and her email account to load.

Liz grinned when she saw that she had not one, not two, but five e-mails from Maria waiting in her inbox. Trust Maria to want all the gossip from America… it wasn't like she didn't have her own American boyfriend in the form of Michael Guerin already though! She spent a few minutes replying to Maria, assuring her that she was having a great time and that, yes, she had seen the pictures of her and Max from the other day. There were also a couple of e-mails from Serena and Alex back home as well as one from her mum asking how she and Max were getting on in California.

She was just about to compose a reply to her mum's message when something on the TV caught her attention. She looked up to find that she'd stopped on the E! channel and that last night's E! News was currently showing. She let out a groan as she realised what the female presenter was talking about on the screen.

"_It seems Hollywood heartthrob Max Evans may have some competition for his new woman. Max has recently been seen with a mystery brunette here in L.A. and although her identity is currently unknown, our sources tell us that she is the same woman caught on camera with him a few weeks ago in a London hotel. However, this steamy love affair may not be all that it seems as the brunette was pictured enjoying lunch with an unknown blond male at the Los Angeles Farmer's Market earlier today, while Max was nowhere to be seen."_

A photograph of Liz and Ian eating sandwiches and laughing together flashed up on the screen and Liz shook her head and let out a heavy, disappointed sigh.

"Shit," she mumbled. "God, they get everywhere, don't they?"

"_Despite intimate pictures of Max with this new woman appearing in the press just this morning, the star has been very tight-lipped the last few weeks in regards to the possibility of a new relationship and after these new pictures emerged this afternoon, speculation suggests that perhaps all is not well in his private life."_

"What the fuck?" she rolled her eyes. "Where on Earth do they get this stuff?"

"They're all parasites, determined to make our lives a living hell by sneaking around and following us everywhere," came Max's voice from the doorway, making Liz jump in surprise and whip her head round to look at him.

Her heart skipped a beat as she took in his appearance; he was wearing a pair of black, low-slung sweatpants, his torso left bare, exposing all his wonderfully defined muscles to her gaze. His hair was in disarray, sticking up on one side from lying on the pillow, and his eyes were dark with sleep.

"Sorry," he murmured in apology, as he flashed her a small, sleepy smile and made his way over to the couch, taking a seat beside her. "What are you doing down here? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she nodded, moving the laptop onto the coffee table. "Just couldn't sleep. I didn't want to disturb you, so I came downstairs for a glass of water… and ended up checking my e-mails."

"Ah, okay," he nodded in understanding.

"What about you? You're not suffering with jetlag like me, so shouldn't you be fast asleep right now?"

"Well," he smiled a little. "You see, I don't sleep that well when you're not beside me."

Liz couldn't stop the blush that arose on her cheeks at his words and she ducked her head as a smile broke out on her face.

"You know," he continued thoughtfully, "I'm not entirely sure how I ever managed to sleep properly before I met you."

"Max…" Liz shook her head in slight embarrassment.

With a chuckle, he slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him as he dropped a kiss to her hair, "It's true."

She relaxed against him, letting out a small sigh of contentment as she did so.

"So what was that on the TV?" he wondered then.

"Oh," Liz rolled her eyes. "That. Apparently there were paps following me when I went on the bus tour yesterday – they got pictures of me eating lunch and talking with the English guy who was sitting next to me on the bus. Now there's all this speculation that I'm cheating on you with him and that you're having relationship problems."

Max frowned, "You didn't mention a guy on the tour."

Liz gave a small chuckle, "Max, I didn't get a chance; you bombarded me with that wonderful, romantic meal and the news about the premiere… I wasn't exactly thinking about anything else!"

"Oh, right… yeah," he gave a small smile.

"It's no big, anyway," she assured him. "The guy sitting next to me was an English gap-year student called Ian. He was from Yorkshire and was just finishing up a round-the-world trip before heading back home. And anyway, he was only like, eighteen or so… much too young for me. I like my men a little older."

She turned her head to wink at him and he let out a laugh in response.

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"It's just so annoying," sighed Liz then. "Like, what gives them the right to just take people's pictures without permission? It should be illegal or something."

"Yeah, it should be," agreed Max. "But unfortunately it's not."

"What about those photos taken of us on the patio? Surely there are laws against them being on private property."

"There are," nodded Max. "But there's no law against them taking photos from a distance as long they are standing on public land."

Liz sighed and shook her head, "I'm so sorry you have to deal with all this in your life, Max."

He just shrugged, "Well, I'm more worried about you having to deal with it. Are you sure you can handle all the attention we're gonna get?"

"Honestly? I don't know," she admitted softly, sitting up so that she could look into his eyes. "But it's worth it if it means being with you."

"Liz…" he murmured, shaking his head, his expression filled with unspoken emotion.

She smiled and shifted on the sofa, moving to straddle his waist as she looped her arms around his neck. His hands automatically came round to rest on her hips and she leaned forward slightly, brushing her lips against his ear as she whispered,

"There's nowhere else I would rather be than right here with you."

"Me either," he admitted, just as softly when she pulled back from his ear and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. "I have no idea what I'm gonna do when you have to leave."

"No, don't," she whispered, removing her arms from his neck and placing a finger against his lips. "I don't even want to think about that right now."

Max just stared at her for a long moment, before a small smile tugged at his lips and he gently kissed her finger, before flicking his tongue out and capturing it in his mouth.

"Max…" murmured Liz, as his eyes bored into hers and she felt her body begin to heat up in response to his ministrations. "God."

His lips released her finger as his hands moved lower to cup her bottom and in response, Liz let her fingers trail down over his bare torso. He grinned before leaning forward and kissing her eagerly. As their mouths moved against each other urgently, Max slid his hands up beneath the T-shirt Liz was wearing until they came in contact with her bare breasts. Liz arched her back slightly as his thumbs flicked across her nipples and she broke the kiss, quickly reaching down to tug the shirt over her head.

Max let out a small hiss as his eyes raked over her naked body and then his eyes slid closed when Liz shifted on his lap, bringing her lower body into contact with his arousal.

"I need you, Max," she murmured breathily, her fingers running down his chest again, continuing lower until she reached her waistband of his sweatpants.

He groaned, his hands stilling on her chest when she stroked him through the soft material and then slid her hand inside to touch him fully. Urging him to lift his hips, she tugged his sweatpants down to his knees. With one hand, Max tugged them off and they dropped to the carpeted floor. Wasting no time at all, Liz quickly positioned herself above him and sank down onto his length with a soft sigh. They moved together in unison, slowly at first, savouring the intimate moment, before becoming caught up in the passion and needing more. The TV was still blaring in the background but Liz didn't notice, her attention instead completely focused on Max and the incredible feelings that were flowing through her body.

* * *

"Okay, let's get this party started," declared Isabel early on Thursday morning, as she stepped through Max's front door and greeted Liz with a quick hug and a two-cheeked kiss. "I have _tons_ of dresses for you to choose from, so we'd better get going right now if we're gonna have time to get your outfit sorted for tonight."

As Isabel stepped away from her and moved to give Max a friendly hug, Liz shot him a helpless look, which he responded to with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. She rolled her eyes in annoyance before plastering a smile on her face when Isabel turned back to face her.

"You ready to go then, Liz?"

"Sure, Isabel," she replied. "Just give me a second to grab my things."

"Okay, well I'll just wait in the car then," replied Isabel cheerily. "See you in a minute."

Liz exhaled heavily as Isabel disappeared out through the door and she turned to look at Max uncertainly. She stepped in front of him and slid her arms around his waist.

"Remind me again why I agreed to let her help me?"

"Because you've been looking forward to tonight all week, and you want to look absolutely stunning in a designer dress on the red carpet," he replied with a smile, before frowning thoughtfully. "Although, you look absolutely stunning all the time anyway, so maybe you could get away with wearing something of yours."

Liz's eyes widened at that and she shook her head in the negative, "Yeah, maybe I should get out there after all. Even if I did look 'stunning' in it, I really don't want to turn up to a movie premiere wearing a high-street-bought dress that only cost me forty pounds."

Max grinned down at her for a moment before lowering his head for a kiss, "I'm sure you can survive a few hours with Isabel for the sake of an amazing outfit, yeah?"

"Yeah, I think I can just about do it," she agreed solemnly, carefully extracting herself from Max before stepping back and looking around for her bag. "Right, where's my bag gone?"

"I think it's in the kitchen," he murmured with a smile, shoving his hands in his pockets.

With a nod, Liz headed for the kitchen and grabbed her bag from the island counter top. Making her way back into the foyer, she leaned up to give Max another quick kiss before walking to the door.

"Have a great day," she told him. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Bye, Liz."

She smiled as she left the large house and headed over to Isabel's shiny convertible.

"Wow, this car is amazing," she murmured as she slid into the passenger seat and closed the door.

"Yeah," grinned Isabel as she turned the car around and drove down the driveway towards the gates at the end. "It's my baby."

They drove for about thirty minutes, making friendly small talk on the way, before pulling up in front of what looked like an ordinary house, at least from what Liz could see through the metal gates shielding it from outside view. Isabel spoke into the intercom and the gates opened up, allowing them access to a long driveway.

"Come on," said Isabel with a wide smile as they pulled up in front of the house. "You've got to meet Caitlyn."

"Who's Caitlyn?" wondered Liz, but Isabel was already out of the car and ringing the doorbell.

She climbed out of the car and followed Isabel over to the house, reaching the door just in time to see it open to reveal a smiling, middle-aged woman dressed in stylish trousers and a silk blouse.

"Isabel!" the woman exclaimed, stepping forward to kiss Isabel on both cheeks. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"Caitlyn," smiled Isabel. "Thank you for fitting us in today."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," dismissed Caitlyn with a friendly wave. "Come in, come in."

Isabel nodded and stepped inside the house, while Liz followed behind, feeling rather nervous and out of place.

"And you must be Liz," smiled Caitlyn, moving to greet her with a kiss, as she shook her hand. "It's lovely to meet you. I have a beautiful selection of outfits for you to choose from today."

The morning passed a whirlwind of different coloured dresses, more shoes than Liz had ever laid eyes on in her entire life and a vast array of accessories, from clutch purses and bags, to necklaces and earrings. It took several hours, but by one o'clock, she had finally found the perfect dress and matching shoes to go with it. Just when she'd been about to give up hope of ever finding the right outfit to wear, there it was; the moment Caitlyn zipped it up and Liz turned to look in the mirror, she knew this dress was the one.

"Wow, you look amazing, Liz," murmured Isabel from behind her. "That's the dress, all right. Max is gonna go crazy when he sees you in that."

Liz couldn't help grinning at herself in the mirror at Max's friend's words, "Yeah, he is, isn't he?"

"Okay, then, we'd better be going now," announced Isabel after a few more minutes of dress appreciation. "We've still got a lot to do before tonight."

"Sure, okay," agreed Liz, although she wasn't sure she wanted to know what else Isabel had planned for her today.

She slipped out of the dress and Caitlyn wrapped it, the shoes, and the accessories they'd chosen in thin paper and handed them to her in a large bag.

"Thank you, Caitlyn, you're the best," smiled Isabel gracefully as they made their way to the front door.

"It's my pleasure, Izzy," smiled the stylish woman. "And it was wonderful to meet you, Liz. I hope you enjoy the dress and have a lovely evening."

"Thank you, Caitlyn," smiled Liz.

Caitlyn kissed them both goodbye and they headed back out to Isabel's car, placing the clothes in the back before getting in.

"Thank you so much, Isabel. This was amazing," said Liz, as they pulled out of the driveway. "But, um…"

Isabel shot her a smile, "But what, Liz?"

"Well, uh," she started uncomfortably, unsure how to broach the subject. "What about payment? Surely a stylist like Caitlyn doesn't give away clothes for free?"

"Oh, no, Liz," laughed Isabel. "Of course she doesn't, but you don't have to worry… it's been put on Max's tab."

"Max is paying for all this?" she wondered in shock, before shaking her head. "No, no, I can't let him do that."

"Really, Liz, it's no big deal," insisted Isabel as they drove away from Caitlyn's and out onto the freeway. "He's probably spent more on his suit for tonight than on your dress."

"Really?" Liz grimaced at that. "I had no idea suits were so expensive."

"Well," Isabel shrugged. "Max does like his designer suits. And please don't go thinking this is all too much, okay? Max asked me specifically to do this for you."

"Okay," she found herself agreeing with a smile. "So, um, what's next on the agenda?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You feel like grabbing some food? I know this really good bistro we can go to."

"Yeah, okay," agreed Liz. "That sounds good."

"Great."

They headed for Isabel's suggested bistro for a late lunch and then it was on to a sophisticated salon for hair, make-up, manicures and pedicures. By the time Isabel dropped Liz back at Max's house at almost five o'clock, she felt much more glamorous than she had a few hours ago. Isabel helped her retrieve the bag containing her outfit from the back of the car and they carried it into Max's home.

"Hey, we're home," called Liz as she opened the door, letting herself and Isabel into the house. "Max? You here?"

There was no reply and it was with a slight frown that Liz placed the bag down on the floor and made her way into the kitchen. She let out a sigh of relief when she noticed a note on the counter.

_Liz,_

_Hope you had a great day with Isabel. Gone to pick up my suit for the premiere and run some errands. Back around five. The limo is coming to the house for five-thirty. Can't wait to see what you're wearing tonight._

_Max_

"Max not here?" asked Isabel when she saw Liz holding the note.

"No, but it says he should be back around now," explained Liz. "The limo will be here in about thirty minutes."

"Then we need to get you ready," decided Isabel, reaching for Liz's hand and leading her out of the kitchen towards the stairs. "Come on, let's go."

She grabbed the bag of clothes from the floor and they made their way upstairs to Max's room to get changed into the dress and shoes. Max arrived home a few minutes later, but Isabel forbade him from seeing Liz while she was getting ready, so he was banished to one of the spare rooms. It was just before five-thirty and Liz's dress was zipped up, her feet were squeezed into gorgeous, yet impossibly high heels, a sparkling diamond necklace was draped around her neck and beautiful diamonds dangled from her ears.

"Just wait until Max sees you looking like this," grinned Isabel excitedly when Liz did a twirl for her.

"Hey, Liz, the limo's here – are you ready?" came Max's voice as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she called back. "You can come in now if you like."

She shot Isabel a grin as the door opened. The moment Max's eyes met hers from the doorway, it was obvious that she'd chosen the right dress. He simply stood there, his hand frozen on the doorknob, as he stared at her in awe.

* * *

"God… Liz… you look…" Max struggled for words as he gazed at Liz open-mouthed. "Wow…"

She looked absolutely incredible; her long hair was arranged in soft, shiny curls and her make-up made her look both beautifully innocent and unbelievably sexy at the same time. But the rest of her… well, he was lost for words. Her dress was a deep blue, bandeau-style, one-shoulder number that hugged every curve perfectly and her delicate shoes made her legs look like they went on forever.

"You like?" grinned Liz, giving him a twirl.

"Oh, I more than like," he nodded eagerly, stepping towards her, his hands itching to reach out and touch her.

"And look at you," she grinned, her eyes sweeping over his grey-suit-clad form as he approached her and slipped his hand around her waist. He grinned as her fingers reached out to feel the material of his jacket. "Don't you look handsome?"

"Thanks," he grinned, unable to resist pressing a kiss to her temple, before moving down and whispering in her ear, "What I wouldn't give to skip the premiere and have my way with you right now."

At that, Liz giggled, a slight blush marring her cheeks, "Max!"

"Okay, I think that's my cue to leave," announced Isabel just then, standing up and heading for the door.

"Hey, wait a sec, Iz," called Max, taking a step back from Liz. "We have to get going now anyway – the limo's waiting downstairs – so we'll walk you out."

Isabel nodded and the three of them headed down to the front door. Saying goodbye to Isabel, Max guided Liz to the limo and they climbed inside.

"So, you have a good day with Iz?" he asked as they got settled in the large limo and the driver pulled away from the house.

"Yeah, I did," she nodded with a wide smile. "I had a lot of fun, actually."

"That's good," he returned the smile. "I'm gonna have to thank her for finding that amazing dress for you."

He grinned as she glanced down at herself, the hands smoothing the material over her legs, before she reached up and fiddled with the diamonds around her neck.

"Nervous?" he wondered softly.

"Yeah, kinda," she nodded, biting her lip. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

"Just be yourself," he suggested. "I'll be right there with you the whole time – you'll be fine."

"What about if they ask me questions?" she worried. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Well, I'm planning on fielding most of the questions myself," he assured her. "So hopefully you won't need to worry about what to say, but if you do get asked something, just stay calm, smile and be polite, but don't tell them anything you're not comfortable with."

"Right, okay…" she murmured, but Max could tell she was still unsure about it all.

"Hey, come here," he said, shifting closer and hugging her to his side. "It's gonna be fine."

She nodded, looking up at him with a smile, "Thanks, Max."

He couldn't help but grin as his eyes locked with hers and a wave of desire suddenly overcame him. She was so beautiful, both inside and out, and he almost couldn't believe that she was right here with him… in his world. Unable to resist any longer, he lowered his head and kissed her, softly at first, but then it escalated into something more and he had to force himself to pull away before things got too out of hand.

"Max, you just ruined my lipstick," pouted Liz, giving a soft chuckle as he looked down at her sheepishly. "Now I've got to try to fix it before we get there."

She began digging in her purse for the aforementioned lipstick and Max couldn't take his eyes off her as she pulled it out, along with a small mirror, and began re-applying it.

"We're almost there, sir," came his driver's voice just then, breaking him out of his Liz-induced trance. "ETA three minutes."

"Thank you, David," he nodded, taking a deep breath to compose himself, before reaching over to take Liz's hand, "Okay, you ready for this?"

She sighed, "As I'll ever be."

"We're here, sir," announced David as they turned the corner and approached the theatre where the premiere was being held.

"Right then," Max turned to Liz. "I'll be getting out first and then I'll help you out. We'll walk together along the red carpet, but I may have to stop for autographs on the way. Next up will be the press interviews and pictures, but don't worry about it… you just need to stay beside me, smile and relax – I'll try to do all the talking. Okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded, exhaling a slightly shaky breath.

"Great," he smiled reassuringly as the car came to a stop and David got out, moving to open the door for Max. "Here goes."

Plastering a smile onto his face, Max climbed out of the limo, nodding politely as the cameras began flashing and the fans started screaming his name. Taking a calming breath, he turned to face the car again and held out his hand to Liz. His fingers tingled when he felt her hand slide into his and he helped her out of the limo. Suddenly the flashes seemed even more blinding and the screaming seemed to get even louder as he slipped an arm around Liz's waist, holding her tight against his side. He glanced down to see an apprehensive look on her face as she took in her surroundings. With a soft smile, he leaned down close to her ear.

"Just relax, you'll be fine."

She nodded, but didn't look at him, her gaze fixed on the large crowd of people instead.

"Smile," he whispered, holding back a grin when she suddenly plastered a wide smile on her face. "Come on, let's go."

Ignoring the shouts of "Max! Max! Over here!" and "Max, who's your girlfriend?" he quickly guided Liz over to the group of fans to their left and began greeting them pleasantly, quickly signing as many of the pieces of paper being waved in his face as he could. Next came the usual pleading for photographs with his fans and not wanting to seem rude, he agreed to pose for a few of them, all the while keeping his hand in Liz's, squeezing it reassuringly every now and then.

It was several minutes before the excitement of the fans began to die down slightly and Max thanked them for their support before ushering Liz back onto the red carpet and towards the throng of photographers and reporters awaiting them.

They stopped for a couple of minutes so Max could pose for pictures, both with and without Liz and then the shouts of the press started to get louder.

"Max, Max over here!"

"Max, who is your mystery girl?"

"Max, who are you wearing tonight?"

"Mr. Evans, what do you make of the rumours that have been circulating about you this week?"

Taking Liz's hand in his once more, Max suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at some of the more intrusive questions as he led her over to the first of the reporters, a familiar woman from Access Hollywood.

"Good evening, Max," she greeted pleasantly. "It's great to see you."

"You too, Andrea," he greeted with a charming smile as he slipped his arm around Liz once again. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, thanks, Max," she replied with a nod. "But let's talk about you. The movie has been getting a lot of good press lately, are you pleased with the film?"

"Oh, yes, definitely," he nodded. "It's a great feel-good movie that I think a lot of people can relate to."

"What about the cast? You've worked with some of them before… do you all get on well with each other?"

"Yes, we do," he grinned. "Despite the long hours spent together, we were kind of like a big, extended family during filming."

"That's gotta be a nice working atmosphere," commented Andrea.

"Yes, it is."

"But enough about the movie," she changed the subject suddenly. "I have to ask the question we've all been dying to know: who is this beautiful woman beside you tonight?"

"This," Max smiled widely as he looked down at Liz, tugging her against his side as she smiled up at him. "Is Liz Parker. My new girlfriend."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Andrea looked at him speculatively. "I think you've just broken a lot of hearts with that statement."

"Well," Max shrugged, his eyes on Liz once more. "What can I say, she's amazing."

There was a pause before Andrea spoke again, "You two have been pictured together here in L.A. the last few days, but there's also speculation that you met in London during filming. So, what's the real story?"

"Well…" Max trailed off, trying to figure out the best way to answer without giving too much away.

But he didn't have to think for long, because just then Liz decided to be bold and speak up.

"Yes, we did meet in London, while Max was filming there," she confirmed, although it wasn't quite the truth, as they had met at her parents' house, not in London. She smiling up at Max before continuing, "I live there, actually. I'm just visiting L.A. at the moment."

"Wow, you're English?" exclaimed the reporter, causing Max to give an internal eye-roll as Liz nodded. "You have such a cute accent! And how romantic, finding love across the Atlantic and all that."

"Yeah," Max chuckled. "It is."

"So, you have to tell us, Max: who are you and Liz wearing tonight…?"

Andrea's questions continued for a couple more minutes and then it was time to say goodbye to her and move on to the next reporter. Max and Liz spent close to an hour out on the red carpet, answering the same questions about the film, their outfits and their relationship over and over again. Every so often, they had to stop to pose for photographs, but all in all, they made it into the theatre relatively unscathed.

"Well, that wasn't too bad, huh?" murmured Max as they moved across the theatre foyer towards the table of food and group of industry-types scattered around the room.

"No, I guess it could have been worse," agreed Liz. "But it was kinda exhausting, all those questions and photos and autographs. I don't know how you do it all the time."

"You get used to it, I guess," he shrugged. "I think it went pretty well, telling people about us, though."

"Yeah."

"There's gonna be a lot of press about us now, though," he warned. "So we need to be prepared for that."

"I know," nodded Liz. "But I can handle it."

"You sure?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah," she agreed, before reconsidering slightly, "Well, I mean, if that's what I have to deal with to be with you, then I will."

"Really?" he took her hands in his looked down at her with a gentle expression.

"Uh huh," she nodded.

"Thank you," he grinned then, and leaned down to give her a quick kiss before gesturing to the group of people across the room. "Okay, let's go eat, mingle and watch a movie."

_TBC…_


	19. Chapter 19

**Part Nineteen **

"You okay?" asked Max the next morning, turning to Liz as he closed the fridge and placed a carton of milk on the island, next to where she was reading the morning paper.

"Yeah," she nodded, her gaze fixed on the page in front of her.

Max smiled and stepped behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder as he looked down at what she was reading: an article and photo spread about the _Love's Complication_ premiere last night. Although there were pictures of several cast members and the director, the prominent theme of both the article and the photographs was Max and Liz's new relationship.

"You looked amazing last night," he said softly, nodding to a picture of the two of them smiling and posing for the camera.

She gave a small nod, "I almost can't believe that's me. The girl in that picture looks so… glamorous. I'm like the complete opposite of glamorous." She shook her head, "I mean, look at me: When I'm not in work, I live in jeans and I hardly wear any make-up unless I'm going out somewhere special. I'm a scientist, for God's sake; scientists aren't glamorous."

"Oh, I beg to differ," murmured Max, his lips ghosting over her cheek as he spoke. "I know this one scientist who can be very glamorous when she wants to be."

"Yeah?" replied Liz with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should introduce me; she could give me some lessons."

Max gave a small chuckle and he shook his head when he saw a smile tugging at Liz's lips too. He enjoyed the moment for a second before sobering.

"Seriously, Liz, you do glamour very well," he told her sincerely, "But honestly, give me the jeans-wearing, make-up-free Liz any day and I'll be happy."

She turned her face to look at him, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he couldn't help but smile, before leaning in for a gentle kiss.

They smiled at each other for a long moment before Max turned his attention back to the newspaper article.

"So, what are they saying about us today?"

Liz shook her head and gave a roll of her eyes before leaning over the paper and reading aloud,

"'_While the new romantic comedy certainly seemed to be proving popular with the critics, the big surprise of the evening was the unveiling of Evans' new love interest, a British beauty by the name of Liz Parker. While little is currently known about Ms. Parker, other than that she hails from London and that the couple met while he was filming in the city earlier this year, inside sources tell us that Max is besotted with her and one close friend states that the couple can't get enough of each other. It's widely known among L.A. circles that Evans has enjoyed playing the field in the past and has also had an on-off relationship with close friend, Anna Davies, for the last few years, but could the appearance of this gorgeous English beauty in his life signal the end to the star's playboy ways and his friendship with Davies?'_"

"Well, they got one thing right," murmured Max with a small grin, tightening his hold on Liz's waist as she finished reading. "I _am_ totally 'besotted' with you."

Liz smiled and rolled her eyes in response, "What, no reaction to the fact that they just called you a playboy and accused you of playing the field?"

He just shrugged in response, "Well, it is kind of true, you know. My life has been splashed all over the tabloids for years now – I can't exactly deny it when it's all in print anyway."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Besides, I'm not like that anymore, so it shouldn't matter."

"Doesn't it bother you, though?"

"No… well, maybe a little," he conceded, "but I've learned to just get on with life and not let it get to me."

Liz nodded, but didn't say anything more.

"Look," he spoke up a moment later, "let's not get bogged down by all this press stuff, okay? You're only here for another week, so I propose that we forget about all this," he gestured to the paper, "and have some fun."

At his suggestion, Liz grinned and turned around on the bar stool to face him.

"What did you have in mind, exactly?"

"Well, I have a free day today, so what do you say to a little trip to Disneyland?"

Liz's grin widened, her eyes lighting up with excitement and Max couldn't help but think how great she looked when she was happy.

"Really?"

"Yep."

Her expression turned cautious, "We won't get hounded by paparazzi?"

"Well, I can't guarantee they won't leave us alone," he admitted. "But to be honest, I just don't care right now. I just wanna spend the day with my beautiful girlfriend."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Liz mused thoughtfully, before breaking into a wide grin. "Let's go!"

Max just shook his head and chuckled with amusement when she jumped up and flung her arms around his neck, before bouncing out of the kitchen and up the stairs to get ready.

* * *

Liz grinned widely when she felt Max's arm settle around her shoulders and she relaxed into him as they walked down Main Street, U.S.A. two hours later. It was wonderful to be walking with him, in broad daylight, without being paranoid about reporters and paparazzi. Of course, there had been some staring, pointing and a few photos taken while they were waiting in line for tickets and they were certainly drawing some attention, but she could handle that.

"So, where do you want to go first?" murmured Max, lowering his lips to her ear as he spoke.

"I don't know," she shrugged with a grin, lifting her fingers to touch his hand, where it was resting on her shoulder. "You're the one with the inside knowledge on this place; I've never been here before, remember?"

He laughed, his fingers linking with hers as he gently kissed her temple, 'Of course, how could I forget?" He paused for a moment, before suggesting, "Okay, then, first off, I vote for _Indiana Jones_."

"_Indiana_ _Jones_?" wondered Liz, turning her thoughts back to the park brochure she'd been reading in line earlier. "That's the one where you sit in the big trucks, right?"

"Yep," nodded Max. "That's the one. Come on, let's go."

Liz grinned as she allowed him to steer her away from Main Street and towards Adventureland. On the way to the ride, they were stopped by a couple of young girls asking for autographs, to which Max happily obliged, and a few whispering adults, nudging each other and staring at both her and Max shamelessly, but for some reason the attention didn't bother her as much as she'd thought it might. Maybe it was because they were in Disneyland where the reality of the outside world had been left at the gate, or perhaps it was because the people here generally seemed to be very accepting of their presence, but either way, watching Max interact with his fans here only served to put a smile on her face.

"Sorry about that," apologised Max when they finally escaped the small throng of people that had gathered around them and they entered the ride.

"I don't mind," she replied softly.

"Really?" he raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Really," she nodded.

"I thought maybe you wouldn't be comfortable with the attention," he shrugged as they walked through the dark corridor of the ride entrance.

"Hey, I'm in Disneyland," she replied matter-of-factly. "Nothing's gonna bother me today."

"Well, okay, then," Max chuckled, shaking his head.

The line for the ride wasn't too long and it only took a few minutes to reach the front. Due to Max's celebrity status, they were escorted onto the ride quickly and the 'cast members' as they insisted on calling the staff were very polite and eager to please.

"Okay, you ready?" asked Max, shooting her a grin as they fastened their seat belts and gripped onto the safety bar in front of them.

"Yep," replied Liz as the truck started to move.

Her eyes lit up in excitement as the ride got underway and she found herself being bounced and flung around in the car, Indiana Jones style.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed, glancing at Max who was grinning down at her.

She felt her stomach drop as they hit a bump in the track and then a rush of exhilaration when they approached the rolling boulder. Her eyes widened and her heartbeat quickened as they watched the boulder descend upon them, and then she let out a sigh of relief and excitement as the truck suddenly jerked downwards and moved out of the boulder's path.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Liz breathlessly as the ride came to an end and they climbed out of the trucks. "That was so cool."

"I know," chuckled Max, slipping his arm around her waist as they exited the ride. "_Indiana Jones_ is pretty cool."

"Let's go on again."

Max shook his head, "How about later? We've still got lots to see and do."

"Aww, come on, Max," Liz gave him her best pout. "Please?"

"But I want to show you the rest of the park," he returned with his own playful pout. "And I wanna go on _Pirates of the Caribbean_."

Liz couldn't help but let out a small giggle at his ridiculous expression.

"Okay, fine," she relented. "Let's go to _Pirates of the Caribbean_."

They spent the next two hours experiencing the rides of Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country and Frontierland, before stopping in the Blue Bayou restaurant next to _Pirates of the Caribbean _for lunch. The afternoon was filled with experiencing Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, as well as a small incident involving a group of over-zealous fans and running for cover into Mickey's Toontown! Once the attention had died down, though, Liz found herself smiling happily as Max led her out of the main park and over to Disney's California Adventure Park, where she experienced the incredible _Soaring over California_ ride, the _California Screamin'_ rollercoaster and the _Grizzly River Run_ rapids.

It was after eight p.m. by the time Max and Liz returned home that evening and Liz immediately sank down onto one of the large couches in the den, her feet tired from walking all day. She smiled softly as Max took a seat beside her, motioning for her to lay her head in his lap, which she did eagerly, as he gently stroked her hair.

"I had an amazing day today, Max," she murmured sleepily. "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure, Liz," he replied with a grin. "Anything to make you happy."

"Aww," she returned playfully, "that's so sweet."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Max running his fingers through Liz's hair, while she fought to keep her eyes open, before Max spoke up again.

"So, we should think about dinner. What do you fancy?"

"Anything that takes as little effort as possible," she mumbled sleepily.

Above her head, Max chuckled, "Okay, so... pizza then?"

"Sounds good."

"Great, I'll get right on that."

She heard him reach for the phone and press a speed-dial button, and within a couple of minutes, the pizzas were ordered. While they waited for the food, Max turned on the TV and relaxed back against the couch, his fingers still working their magic in Liz's hair.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, as usual, and Liz smiled contentedly as she stretched lazily in Max's comfortable bed and then snuggled into his chest. She'd had the best day with him at Disneyland yesterday and it seemed that the happiness she'd felt all day had still not worn off yet.

"Morning," came a sleepy voice from above her head as she slid her arm around Max's bare waist and let her fingers linger on his warm skin.

"Hey," she whispered with a smile, lifting her head and pressing her lips to his for a good morning kiss. "Sleep well?"

"Definitely," he grinned, before snaking his arms around her and pulling her on top of him.

"Hey!" she yelped in surprise as she suddenly found herself straddling his hips and looking down at him.

"Sorry," he replied, looking anything but.

His less-than-innocent expression caused Liz to smirk deviously and she lowered her mouth to his in a hungry kiss, before letting her lips and tongue trace a trail down his neck, over his torso and down to his stomach.

"God, Liz," hissed Max, his eyes sliding closed and his fingers tangling in her hair her mouth crept lower and lower... until the shrill ringing of Max's cell phone interrupted her ministrations and killed the mood.

"Dammit," cursed Max harshly as Liz abandoned her mission and crawled back up his body again, watching as reached for the phone, rolling his eyes when he noticed the caller ID and answering irritably, "What is it, Sandy?"

For a moment, Liz was confused as to why another woman would be calling Max at eight a.m. on a Saturday morning, but then she remembered that Sandy was his manager and she relaxed, moving off Max and propping herself up on one elbow as she watched him converse with the other woman.

"What am I doing?" he glanced at Liz with an annoyed grimace and she offered him a smile in return. "I'm trying to enjoy a relaxing weekend with my girlfriend, that's what."

Liz watched as he listened to what his manager was saying and she sighed when his face fell even further.

"What? You can't be serious, Sandy; come on!" he responded with a frown. "I thought we agreed not to do those interviews for another two weeks? I can't just–"

He stopped and Liz heard Sandy's voice rising on the other end of the line.

"No, Sandy," he said, more firmly this time. "I'm not doing this, okay? You're gonna have to reschedule."

"This is the worst possible time for this," he tried again, but Liz could see by his expression that he was facing a losing battle. "Can't you just tell them I can't make it?"

He listened for a moment longer, before sighing in defeat.

"Fine, fine, I'll be there."

He hung up the phone and let out a curse as his head fell back against the pillows, his lower arm covering his eyes.

"What's going on?" asked Liz tentatively.

He sighed heavily, lifting his arm and sitting up so that he could look at her, "I have to do some more interviews. Sandy told me that they had been rescheduled for after you'd gone home, but apparently they can't fit me in any other time, so I have to do them now."

"Well, that's okay," murmured Liz, reaching out to touch his arm. "I don't mind if you have some work commitments to attend to. I'm sure I can find a way to amuse myself for a couple of hours."

"Liz," his expression was almost pained, "it won't just be a couple of hours... the interviews are over three days and they're in New York City."

"What?" Liz's eyes widened in shock. "New York? But that's like... the other side of the country!"

"Yeah," he nodded grimly. "I have to fly out tomorrow morning and I'll be tied up there until Wednesday night."

"Shit."

Liz lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as her wonderful mood evaporated. How could Max be going to New York City? She only had seven more days left with him and he was about to spend four of those days three thousand miles away from her.

"Liz, I'm sorry," he apologised, reaching out to run his fingers through her hair. "I wish I could get out of it and spend all my time with you, but there's no way."

"No, I get it, Max," Liz shook her head, trying to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes at the thought of spending the next four days alone in this big house without him. "It's okay."

"But I promise I'm going to get each interview over with as quickly as possible so we can spend as much time together in the Big Apple as possible."

"I understand, Max. I'll be fine here without you," managed Liz. "Wait... what? Together?"

Her eyes wide, she looked over to find Max grinning at her mischievously, "What, you didn't think I was gonna leave you here all alone, did you? You're coming with me, Lizzie."

"Oh my God, really?" she sat up straight, her good mood returning. "I'm going to New York?"

"Of course you are," chuckled Max, slipping his arms around her and capturing her lips with his. "If I have to spend four days in New York, then you're gonna have to do it with me."

"I can't believe this!"

"I'm afraid I'm not gonna have much free time though, but we'll make the most of the time we do have, okay?"

"Definitely," nodded Liz eagerly, almost unable to believe this was happening. "I can't believe I get to go to both LA and New York in one trip... this is amazing!"

"I'm glad you think so," smiled Max. "It makes me feel better about having to work while you're here."

"I'm sure I'll be able to find plenty to do while you're at your interviews," said Liz then. "Just think, I can visit the Empire State Building, see the Statue of Liberty... go shopping on Fifth Avenue... oh, and I have to go to Bloomingdales and Macy's too!"

"I think you'll be just fine," agreed Max as he kissed her again and pulled her back down to the bed. "But now that we've got New York sorted out, I think we need to finish off what we started earlier..."

_TBC..._


	20. Chapter 20

**Part Twenty**

The bright California sunshine peeked through the master bedroom curtains and fell upon Liz's sleeping form as she shifted in her sleep, one hand reaching out for Max under the covers…but her fingers encountered only empty space. Prying first one eye open and then the other, she frowned in confusion when she realised she was alone in the large bed. Letting out a yawn and stretching her arms above her head, she sighed heavily before reluctantly sliding out of the bed. Slipping on one of Max's discarded shirts, she padded out of the room and went in search of her boyfriend.

As she made her way down the stairs, she heard the sound of female laughter coming from the kitchen. With a frown, she continued to the bottom of the stairs and along the hallway, stopping in the kitchen doorway when her eyes fell on the sight of Anna Davies sitting at the island. Max was standing beside her, his head close to hers as they laughed at something on the counter in front of them. Liz couldn't help feeling a slight twinge of jealousy in her stomach when Max slung a casual arm over Anna's shoulder as they shared an amusing joke. Taking a step forward into the kitchen, Liz cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"Liz," he smiled, his eyes softening as he looked up to see her standing there. "You're up."

"Yep," she gave him a small smile and a nod as she crossed the room and reached for the coffee pot, pouring herself a steaming mug of coffee.

"Morning, Liz," added Anna with a friendly smile. "Good to see you again."

"You too," replied Liz a little stiffly, lifting the mug to her lips as she raised an eyebrow at Max, giving him a questioning look.

He just smiled in response, "Anna just popped by to say hi."

"Oh," murmured Liz, still not quite sure what to make of Max's ginger-haired friend as she nodded in Anna's direction. "Well, hi."

"I thought maybe the two of you might like to spend some time together this morning," he added, and Liz's eyes snapped back to him. "I have some errands I need to run before we leave for New York later."

"Oh," repeated Liz, feeling a bit putout that her hoped-for relaxing morning with Max was apparently now off the cards. "Right. Okay."

"Yeah, it'll be fun," grinned Anna with a sly smile. "We can gossip about Max."

Despite feeling a little uncomfortable around Anna since the barbecue last weekend, Liz couldn't help but smile at the devious look on the other woman's face.

"Okay, okay, girls," Max held up his hands in protest. "Don't get too carried away now."

"Oh, don't worry, we won't," replied Anna sweetly, giving Liz a discreet wink.

"Of course not," replied Liz with a grin.

"Okay, well I've got to go now," murmured Max, giving the two of them a suspicious look as he walked over to Liz and placed a hand on her arm. "Our flight leaves at two-thirty this afternoon. I'll try to be back before we need to leave, but if not, I'll meet you at the airport at one-fifteen, okay?"

"Sure," nodded Liz. "Okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye," murmured Max with a soft smile that made Liz's stomach flip.

His hand slid up her arm to her neck and he lowered his head, his lips finding hers and caressing them gently. Liz couldn't help but sigh as she felt heat begin to swirl in her belly… and then quickly cursed her body for its sudden reaction to him. If only they were alone right now and he wasn't about to walk out of the door and leave her alone with his… well, with Anna.

All too soon, though, he had released her and was heading out of the door. Liz watched him go with a pout; how was she gonna survive without him for another four hours?

"Wow, you two are something else," whistled Anna, causing Liz to whip her head around in surprise.

"Hmm?"

"You and Max," Anna nodded towards the door Max had just disappeared through. "You've got something special there."

"You think?"

"Definitely," the other woman nodded again. "I've never seen him be like this with anybody else."

Liz raised an eyebrow, unable to resist asking, "Not even with you?"

"With me?" Anna looked surprised as she shook her head. "No, not with me… what exactly did he tell you about us?"

Liz shrugged awkwardly, inwardly wishing she'd never mentioned it at all, "He told me about your relationship before he came to London… you know, how you were sleeping together."

"Oh…" murmured Anna, glancing down at the kitchen counter for a moment, before looking up at Liz again and saying sincerely, "You know it was never serious between us, right? It was just two friends–"

"Hooking up occasionally," interrupted Liz quickly. "Yeah, I know."

"Seriously, Liz, that's all it was," insisted Anna. "Neither of us were seeing anyone seriously and you know, Max and I get on well together… and well, it was convenient, I guess…"

When she trailed off and didn't say anything more, Liz suddenly felt a flash of anger, or maybe it was frustration, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't stop the next words from tumbling out of her mouth.

"Convenient?" she exclaimed incredulously. "You were, like, fuck buddies or something… that's not exactly normal, you know. I mean, I have guy friends that I'm close to, but I wouldn't dream of sleeping with them just because I wasn't seeing anyone and they were there."

"I'm sorry, Liz," murmured Anna, obviously not expecting the sudden tirade. "We didn't mean for it to hurt anyone. And of course, nothing at all has happened since before he left for the UK at Christmas. It's over."

"Yeah, he told me," conceded Liz, a dozen emotions suddenly running through her, confusing her.

"I meant what I said earlier, Liz. You're the only girl I've seen him get this serious over in all the years I've known him. You're different for him."

Liz nodded as she moved to the island and took a seat on one of the stools, and resting her arms on the surface.

"I'm sorry for all of this." She shook her head. "I guess I just don't know where we stand right now. I mean, I'm going back to London in a few days… and then what? We're gonna be, like, six thousands miles apart again and the thought that he might find someone else just…" She looked up at Anna, "It scares the shit out of me."

Anna gave her a gentle smile and, making her way around the island, placed a hand on Liz's lower arm.

"Don't you think it scares him too?" she smiled sympathetically. "The thought that you might meet someone else back in London and leave him behind?"

Liz scoffed at that, "Why would he be worried about that? He's a fucking movie star! He could have anyone he wanted. I'm just a nobody."

"Not to him," countered Anna. "He hasn't admitted it yet, but you mean the world to him, Liz."

"You think so?"

Anna nodded, "Definitely. You know, before you got here, I caught him doing some research on the Internet. He was looking at property in London and a UK immigration website."

"He was what?" Liz's eyes widened in shock. "No, no, he can't live in England!"

"Why not?" Anna's expression turned confused. "You don't want him to?"

"No, I mean… that would be amazing," she admitted. "But, he just can't. His life is here, in L.A.. The movie studios and the jobs are here." She sighed. "He would miss out on so many career opportunities if he came to England. I can't let him do that."

"What if that doesn't matter to him?" countered the redhead.

"No…no, I just can't let him do that just for me." Liz shook her head. "That just seems so selfish and I have no intention of standing between him and his career."

"Yeah, maybe," murmured Anna, although Liz thought she didn't look entirely convinced. "But as you said, you're leaving soon, and then what? It can't be easy to maintain a relationship when you're six thousand miles apart."

"Tell me about it," muttered Liz under her breath, before sighing and telling Anna, "I don't know, Anna. I really don't."

* * *

"So," said Max, as he and Liz headed towards the airport a few hours later. "I was talking to my publicist earlier…"

"Yeah?" asked Liz, turning her head away from the window to face him in the back of the large car.

"… Well, she wanted to discuss the content of my interviews this week," he continued, his expression serious. "Specifically what I'm going to say about our relationship."

"The relationship you have with your publicist?" wondered Liz with a grin.

"No," Max shook his head and rolled his eyes at her teasing tone. "Our relationship. Yours and mine."

"Yeah, I got that," she smiled, reaching out to caress the back of his hand with her fingertips. "And what did she decide?"

"Well, ultimately it's our choice," he told her, trying very hard not to react to the feel of her fingers teasing his skin. "But she suggested it would be wise to keep the details of our private lives out of the press as much as possible."

"Makes sense," agreed Liz with a nod as she shifted closer to him and let her head rest against his shoulder.

Max glanced down at her with a soft smile, "We decided it would be best not to bring you into the spotlight unnecessarily; try to keep you under the radar for as long as we can. So, I thought I'd just say that we met in London while I was filming, that things are going well, and that I would rather keep my private life private at this time."

Liz nodded again, but Max could feel her tense slightly against him.

"What's wrong?"

She gave a sigh, before lifting her head and straightening up, "I get that you're trying to protect me from the press, Max, but don't I get a say in this too?"

"Of course you do, Liz," Max frowned. "I'm not trying to dictate things for you, but I've been in this business for a while and I've seen what a lack of privacy can do to people… it's not pretty and I don't want that for you."

"I know that, Max," Liz assured him, "and I understand where you're coming from. I just don't want you or your publicist to start trying to run my life for me, okay?"

She had a small smile on her face, which allowed Max to relax.

"Okay," he nodded in agreement. "I get it. I'll do my best not to run your life for you."

"Thanks," she smiled, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I appreciate it."

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Liz spoke up again, "So, what exactly is the plan for the next few days?"

"Well," said Max thoughtfully, running through the details of the trip in his mind. "I don't have anything scheduled for tonight, but tomorrow, I have magazine interviews in the morning and then I'm due to appear on Letterman late afternoon. It'll be similar on Tuesday and Wednesday too, I'm afraid."

"Okay, so I guess I'll have to find something to do by myself while you're busy."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Well, unless you feel like hanging around behind the scenes for several hours, but that can get really boring."

"Yeah, I think I'll give that a miss," replied Liz quickly. "After all, I'll be in Manhattan… I need to be out there, exploring… shopping… having fun."

"You do that," chuckled Max, tightening his arm around her. "But you have to promise to leave some time for me in there too… I won't be busy the whole time."

"I should hope not," she shot back quickly, with a grin. "Otherwise, what would have been the point of bringing me?"

"Very good point, Ms. Parker," he agreed as he relaxed back into his seat and savoured the quiet privacy they had for the moment.

Fifteen minutes later, the car pulled up outside the airport and his driver collected their luggage from the trunk. As discreetly as possible, Max and Liz climbed out of the car and headed inside the terminal. The check-in desks were fairly empty and there weren't many people around, so they managed to get checked in and through security without attracting too much attention. However, as Max slipped his hand into Liz's and they made their way towards the VIP boarding lounge, several people spotted Max and suddenly a commotion broke out around them, with young teenagers pointing their camera phones at him and calling his name. Max tightened his hand around Liz's and she leaned into him as they increased their speed through the terminal and he let out a sigh of relief when they finally entered the VIP area and could have some privacy.

"For fuck's sake," he muttered under his breath as he led Liz over to a group of comfortable chairs and they sat down. "Don't they ever give up?"

"They're just excited to see you," reasoned Liz. "They're just kids, most of them."

"I know," he admitted sheepishly. "It just gets a bit too much sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah," she gave him a smile. "I know."

* * *

The flight to New York was pretty uneventful. Max dosed off just after take-off and so Liz spent the majority of the five-hour trip trying to read a book. However, she found herself spending more time watching Max's face as he slept than she did concentrating on the printed words in front of her. Due to the three-hour time-difference, it was late when the plane finally landed in New York… almost eleven p.m., and by the time they arrived at their hotel on Columbus Circle, it was close to midnight.

"Wow…" murmured Liz in awe as she stepped into their hotel suite at the _Mandarin_ _Oriental_ in Manhattan late that night. "This place is _amazing_!"

"Pretty nice, huh?" agreed Max as he entered the large room behind her and then stepped aside to let the bellboy bring their bags inside.

"Nice?" Liz exclaimed incredulously as she moved further into the suite and turned in a circle, taking in her elaborate surroundings. "It's fucking incredible."

By the door, she saw the bellboy raise an eyebrow at her colourful language, but she couldn't bring herself to care right now. Barely able to contain her grin, Liz moved towards the living room area and her fingers across the silky couch cushions for a moment, before she turned back to Max who was giving the bellboy a tip.

"You realise that this suite is bigger than my whole flat back home, right?"

"Is it?" he shrugged sheepishly in reply, as the bellboy left the room and closed the door behind him. "I hadn't noticed."

At that, Liz scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Right, of course not, Mr. I-earn-millions-of-dollars-per-movie-and-can-afford-to-stay-in-the-most-expensive-hotels-in-the-world. You're probably so used to staying in places like this you don't even notice the size anymore."

"Well…" Max shrugged again.

"Very convincing." Liz couldn't help but laugh at his attempt at an innocent expression. "You know, you'll make a great actor someday."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," Max rolled his eyes at her as he picked up their bags from their position next to the door and carried them over to the bedroom.

"Yeah, I thought so," she shot back, playfully sticking her tongue out at him as she followed him into the room.

She was about to make another retort when the wall-to-ceiling windows caught her eye and she moved get a better looked, letting out a gasp at the view before her. "Wow, you can see practically all of Manhattan from up here!"

"I know," replied Max, coming up behind her and slipping his arms around her waist. "It's a great view, isn't it?"

"Yeah," breathed Liz, letting her body relax back against Max's chest, a lazy smile sliding onto her face as she savoured the moment they were sharing. "It's gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous," he countered, his warm breath tickling her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

She grinned, turning in his arms and slipping her arms around his neck as she stared up into his eyes and whispered a soft, "Thank you."

Max smiled in response, tightening his arms around her.

"And of course, you are too," she was quick to add. "Although you already knew that."

"Well, yeah… but I just love to hear you say it," he grinned mischievously, before swooping down and capturing her lips with his in a heated kiss.

At the unexpected, but welcome contact, Liz sighed into his mouth, her eyes sliding shut as she focused on the feel of his lips against hers. She needed him. Right now. Right there in that large bed, amongst the silk sheets.

"Come on," murmured Max several moments later, pulling away briefly to look down at her. "Let's go to bed."

At his words, Liz nodded enthusiastically, running her hands down his chest suggestively. "I thought you'd never ask."

"What?" frowned Max, looking at her with confusion in his eyes. "Oh, no, I meant to sleep. It's after midnight and we've had a long day."

"But it's only nine in L.A.," protested Liz with a pout.

"Maybe so, but my interviews are on New York time… which means I have to be up and ready to go in about seven hours," countered Max with a wounded expression of his own. "And I need my beauty sleep."

Liz gave him a funny look, "Didn't you just sleep for, like, four hours on the plane?"

"Well, yeah…" he shrugged unapologetically, releasing his grip on her and moving to unzip his bag and pull out a T-shirt, a pair of sweats and a wash bag. "But that wasn't real sleep; I was just snoozing."

At that, he walked across the bedroom and disappeared inside the bathroom, leaving Liz staring after him in exasperation.

"Fine," she huffed, as she headed after him and leaned against the bathroom door, watching him get ready for bed. "You win. We'll go to bed."

"Great," Max flashed her a grin, before reaching for his toothbrush. "I'll be out in a minute."

With another pout, Liz went back into the bedroom and began searching through her bag for some nightwear. She could hear Max moving around in the bathroom and her eyes flitted between his direction and the large, inviting bed. She knew he needed to be refreshed and bright-eyed for his long day tomorrow, but at the same time, her body was craving his right now and this expensive, Asian-style hotel suite wasn't exactly doing much to calm her amorous mood. With a sigh, she changed into her nightclothes and sat down on the edge of the bed while she waited for Max to be done in the bathroom. She let her fingers run over the silk sheets covering the bed and she shivered in response to the feel of them against her skin.

This was going to be one long night.

_TBC… _


	21. Chapter 21

**Part Twenty-One**

It was only six-thirty in the morning when the sound of Max's phone alarm woke Liz from her peaceful slumber. She snuggled up against his side, burying her face in his shoulder as he reached over to the bedside table to switch off the offending noise, one arm still cradling her to him. Once the room was shrouded in silence again, he relaxed back against the pillows and lowered his head towards hers.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," he whispered softly, tightening his arm around her.

"S'okay," she murmured sleepily, her eyes still closed and her arm sliding around his waist, squeezing gently.

"I gotta get ready to go," he added regretfully a moment later. "They'll have my ass if I'm late."

"Yeah, I know," breathed Liz, as she started to drift off to sleep again.

"But I don't want to go. I wanna stay here with you," came his voice again, his petulant tone causing Liz to give a soft, sleepy chuckle.

"You have to," she replied, lifting her head and opening her eyes to look up at him.

He made an adorable picture, all bleary-eyed and bed-mussed hair, and she couldn't prevent a smile from sliding across her face as he gazed down at her with dark eyes, before lowering his mouth to hers in a long, slow kiss. Liz moaned involuntarily at the contact and her hand drifted up into his hair, her fingers winding through the soft strands, holding him close to her.

"Mmm," murmured Max looking down at her with a lazy smile a moment later, before frowning slightly. "I have to go shower."

Liz gave a small chuckle, "So go."

"Only if you come with me," he responded with a grin.

"Max, if I come with you, you'll never be ready to leave on time," she rolled her eyes.

"Well," he whispered conspiratorially, tugging her close. "We'll just have to make it a quickie then."

"I guess we will," agreed Liz with a grin of her own. "Okay, then. Race you there."

In a shot, she was out of the bed and running for the bathroom, leaving Max to follow behind.

"Hey!" he called out in annoyance, causing Liz to smile widely as she turned on the double-headed shower in the large bathroom and tested the temperature.

It was only a matter of seconds before he appeared in the doorway and began to stalk towards her with a smirk on his face.

"Come here," he murmured softly as he stopped in front of her and reached for her flimsy tank top, pulling it over her head.

Their eyes locked as the tank top fell from Max's hands and fell to the floor; a beat passed, then two, and then as if being drawn together by an invisible force, they crashed together, tugging off the remainders of their clothes and stepping into the steamy shower.

Standing under the hot spray with Max's hands roaming her naked body eagerly, Liz suddenly felt wide awake. She bit her lip in anticipation when his palms cupped her breasts, caressing them gently as his lips sucked and nibbled along the side of her neck.

"Max…" she gasped breathily, clutching at his hair as her body reacted to his ministrations.

Not wasting any time, Max let one hand slide down her stomach, his fingers brushing her clit gently, making Liz's hips buck in response.

"Oh, God," she muttered, her eyes sliding closed as her head fell back against the shower wall.

Max continued his foreplay on her sensitive skin for a few more seconds, before his hand shifted to her hips, urging her upwards. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist eagerly as Max moved his mouth to her ear and whispered gently, "Sorry… wish we had time to go slow."

"Don't care," was all she managed when she felt his length pressing into her. "Need you now."

"Well, if you insist," he grinned slyly, before lowering his mouth to hers, kissing her heatedly as they began moving together as one.

After a very quick, but extremely enjoyable shower, Liz pulled one of the hotel's luxury robes around her body as Max finally got dressed and ready for the day. She smiled as watched him style his hair in the bathroom mirror from her position perched on the marble counter beside him.

"What?" he asked, shooting her a grin.

"Nothing," she returned. "I just like watching you."

He smiled again, before turning back to the mirror to finish adjusting his hair.

"So, what are you going to do today?" he asked, stepping between her legs and placing his hands on her waist.

"Well, I thought I'd go and see the sights," she replied, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair away from his forehead. "Maybe get some shopping done too."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah, I can't wait."

Max looked thoughtful for a moment, before reaching into his back pocket and pulling something out.

"Here," he pressed a small, hard object into her hand. "You can use this."

Liz looked down at what she was holding with a frown.

"Your credit card?" she shook her head. "Max, no. I can't."

"Why not?" he shrugged, obviously not getting what the problem was. "I don't mind."

Liz tried to give the card back to him, "No. I'm not spending your money, okay? I have my own. I'm not gonna let you treat me like a kept woman."

"Come on, Liz," Max rolled his eyes. "You know it's not like that."

She raised her eyebrows at him as if to say, 'Do I?'

"Look," he said, more softly this time as he pressed the card back into her hand. "I know you have your own money and I don't want you to feel like you're a 'kept woman' or anything, but I feel guilty that it's my fault you have to spend it."

Her expression softened slightly, "Your fault? Max, I'm the one who decided to come here."

"I know," he agreed. "But it doesn't feel right you spending all your hard-earned money here, when I'm happy to share mine with you." He rolled his eyes, muttering, "God knows I have more than I know what to do with."

"Max…" murmured Liz, feeling oddly touched by his admission. "I can take care of myself."

"You can," he agreed with a nod. "I just want to help out a bit."

"Well, in that case, thank you," she smiled.

"So you'll take the card?"

She nodded, looking down at it in her hand, "Yeah, I'll take it." Looking up at his again, she added, "But don't expect me to use it, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," agreed Max reluctantly, before flashing her a grin and then giving her a grateful kiss. "Thank you."

Liz looked up into his eyes and smiled gently.

"Okay, I really gotta go," he admitted then. "Have a great day."

"You too."

They shared another kiss before Max pulled away and helped her down off the bathroom counter. Less than two minutes later, he was gone, leaving Liz staring after him, a bemused smile on her face.

* * *

It was after nine o'clock that morning by the time Liz finally emerged from the hotel. She walked out onto the busy Manhattan streets with a grin on her face, large sunglasses covering her eyes and a hat pulled down low on her head. She was ready for a day of sightseeing and shopping… in New York! When she'd woken up earlier, she had been ready to snuggle up in bed and get some more sleep, but after Max had left, she'd been full of energy and had spent the next two hours exploring the hotel suite and relaxing on the comfortable couches.

At around nine though, she decided she'd better get going as she only had a couple of days to explore Manhattan, so she got dressed and headed outside. She wasn't sure if she needed to yet, but she'd opted to play it safe for now and wear the sunglasses and hat just in case anybody recognised her from the paparazzi photos. She was excited about exploring the city, even if it was without Max, and the first stop on her list was Times Square.

The next few hours passed quickly for Liz as she first headed down Eighth Avenue to Forty-Second Street, exploring some of the shops there and then took the subway down to Battery Park, where she took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. She spent practically the whole day walking around with a large smile on her face… partly because she was excited to be in New York City and partly because it seemed that so far no one had recognised her as Max Evans' new girlfriend.

However, all day she'd been very conscious of the fact that Max's credit card was tucked inside her pocket, just begging to be used, and although she knew that he was only trying to help out and she was touched by his generosity, she just couldn't bring herself to actually use it. She'd always been independent and had been earning her own money since she was a young teenager. She'd never relied on other people for money before and it felt wrong to spend someone else's hard-earned cash on herself… even if they did have a lot of it to spare.

As if on cue, her phone rang and a quick glance at the caller ID showed that it was Max calling. With a grin, she pressed the answer button and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey," came Max's warm timbre down the line. "It's me."

"Really?" she replied teasingly. "I'd never have guessed."

"Very funny," he returned, although she could hear the smile in his voice. "How are you getting on? Seen all the sights yet?"

"Not quite," she chuckled. "I've been to Times Square, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island though."

"Good time?"

"Yeah, definitely," she nodded enthusiastically as she came to a stop at some traffic lights and waited for the 'Walk' sign to show.

"So, where are you now?" he wondered.

"I just got the subway back up to Times Square and I'm on my way to Rockefeller Center right now," replied Liz, crossing Forty-Third Street and heading up Sixth Avenue. "How's it going there?"

"Pretty good," he told her. "The interviews this morning were kind of monotonous, but we're about to start filming Letterman soon, which should be more interesting."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, the show's usually pretty fun."

"So, any, uh… awkward questions so far today?" asked Liz as she approached the Forty-Fourth street intersection.

"A couple," admitted Max softly, with a tinge of regret in his tone. "But I fielded them the best I could."

"Great," she replied, as they lapsed into a short silence.

"So, um, I did actually have a reason for calling," said Max, a few moments later. "I wanted to know if you wanted to meet me later, when I'm done with the show."

"Of course," returned Liz, as if it should be obvious. "Just let me know where and when."

"Well, I should be done here in the next couple of hours, so… how about we say six o'clock back at the hotel and I'll call you if I'm gonna be late."

"Sounds great," smiled Liz. "I'll see you then."

* * *

"Wow," murmured Liz in awe as she glanced around the extremely posh restaurant Max had taken her to later that evening. "I can't believe this place. I mean, I know it's famous and everything, but I never expected it to be this impressive."

Max grinned, leaning towards her to whisper softly, "It is pretty impressive, huh?"

"Yeah…" she agreed readily, before lowering her voice and speaking seriously. "You know you didn't have to bring me here, though?"

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't need to try and impress me with fancy hotel suites and dinner at the Four Seasons, Max," she smiled sadly. "I don't care about all that stuff. You know, I'd be perfectly happy staying in a normal hotel and eating a takeaway dinner."

"I know," acknowledged Max. "That's one of the things that drew me to you in the first place." She smiled at his admission. "But maybe I want to spoil you a bit."

"Well, when you put it that way…" mused Liz contemplatively. "Maybe I can suck it up and enjoy it."

"And don't forget," he added with a smirk. "The press would have a field day if I checked into a cheap hotel and ate take-out in New York instead of staying and dining somewhere expensive."

"Yeah, there is that," she mused, before looking down at the menu thoughtfully. "So, what's good to eat here?"

"Well, the _Asparagus Soup_ is nice… and the _Sweet Pea Agnolotti_ is pretty damn tasty," he replied, glancing over the menu. "And for the main course, I highly recommend the _Wild Striped Bass_."

"Ooh, sounds good."

Just then, a waiter appeared at their table. He was a short, stout man with an upturned nose and a slightly patronizing smile.

"Good evening Mr. Evans," he greeted with an overly sugary tone. "My name is Piers and I will be looking after you this evening. Are we ready to order?"

Liz hid a smile as Max gave her a discreet eye-roll before replying, "I think we're gonna need a little more time, thanks."

"Very well," nodded the waiter, giving a nod of his head before retreating from the table.

"He seems, uh, nice," commented Liz with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah," Max grinned and shook his head as he scanned the menu again.

Piers returned a few minutes later to take their orders and Liz and Max made casual conversation until the food arrived. The meal was absolutely delicious and for the next two hours, Liz was in heaven. She didn't think any other restaurant she'd ever eaten at could compare and she told Max so as they exited the restaurant later that night. They walked down the street for a block or so, but Max spotted a photographer across the road and quickly hailed a cab, asking the driver to take them to Thirty-Fourth Street.

"But isn't our hotel in the other direction?" questioned Liz when the driver pulled out into the traffic and began heading south on Park Avenue.

Max sent her a grin, "We're not going to the hotel."

"Oh… so where are we going?"

"You'll have to wait and see," he replied softly, pulling her towards him in the back seat of the cab and kissing her gently.

"Okay, then…" she murmured breathlessly when they broke apart several long seconds later. "I can do that."

A few minutes later, the cab turned along Thirty-Fourth Street and pulled up halfway along the block. Max paid the driver and then helped Liz out of the car.

"Where are we?" she wondered, looking up and down the street trying to figure out what they were doing there.

"Look up," murmured Max in her ear, standing just behind her.

She did, and when she realised what she was looking at, she let out a gasp, "Oh my God, this is the Empire State Building!"

"I know," he grinned, stepping to the side and taking her hand, leading her towards a revolving door. "Everyone should see the view from the top at night. Come on, let's go in."

"Wow," murmured Liz in awe as she took in the lobby, she eyes roaming the interior of the building eagerly as they walked to the back of the spacious area.

"Good evening, Mr. Evans," greeted a smartly dressed concierge at the bottom of the small escalator in the corner. "Nice to see you again."

"Evening," nodded Max in return.

The concierge motioned towards the escalator and Liz followed Max as he stepped onto it.

"Do you think we have to worry about being seen here?" wondered Liz when they reached the top of the escalator and headed towards the ticket booths and security lines.

There were a few people milling around, some of whom turned to look at them as they passed through security, but the building didn't seem too busy.

"I think we'll be okay," he smiled, as they headed towards a shiny gold elevator that would take them up to the observation desk. "It shouldn't be too busy at this time of night, so I doubt we'll get too much unwanted attention."

Being fairly quiet visitor-wise, it only took a matter of minutes for them to reach the eightieth floor, switch to a second elevator and finally step out into the eighty-sixth floor observation area. Taking Liz's hand, Max led her outside to the observation deck.

"Oh my God," exclaimed Liz when her eyes fell upon the incredible view before her. "This is absolutely amazing!"

She quickly made her way to the corner of the deck and placed her hands on the wall, leaning forward towards the wire mesh to get a better view. The city was so pretty at night, the lights illuminating the tall skyscrapers perfectly. It was a scene she'd only ever seen in the movies.

"I love it up here," agreed Max as he stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her body back against him. "It's so peaceful, yet almost overwhelming at the same time."

Liz nodded in understanding.

"Do you come here often?" she found herself asking, realising belatedly that it sounded very much like a corny chat-up line.

Max seemed to have caught onto the alternate meaning and gave a small chuckle, before sobering and replying seriously, "Yeah, I try to visit whenever I'm in New York… circumstances permitting, of course."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Being up here, looking down at the city… it gives me perspective, I guess. It's so easy to get caught up in all the superficial stuff in L.A.; you know, how much money you make, how much money everyone else makes, who's attending whose parties, who's had plastic surgery this month, etc… but up here, I can just forget about all the Hollywood shit and remember what the rest of the world is like."

"Wow," murmured Liz softly, her gaze still fixed on the city before her. "Heavy stuff."

At that, Max laughed outright, tightening his arms around her for a moment, before lowering his lips to the side of her neck and kissing her softly.

"Yeah," he murmured against her skin.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Max," she said after a moment of contented silence.

"It was my pleasure."

She turned in his arms so she could look into his eyes, hoping to fully convey her appreciation when she added, "Thank you for everything."

He shook his head, his expression almost incredulous, "Really, Liz, you don't have to thank me. I love having you here with me."

"And I love being here with you," she replied softly.

Max smiled too, as he lifted a hand to tuck a curl of her hair behind her ear, his finger brushing against her cheek as he moved.

"I know I have to, but I don't want to go home on Friday," she admitted, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"I don't want you to go either," he replied, his tone serious. "It feels like you've only just got here… and now we've only got four days left together."

"Yeah, I know," Liz nodded, her gaze dropping as she attempted to blink away the few tears that were threatening to fall.

"But," came Max's gentle voice then as he slid a finger below her chin and forced her to look up again, "We are going to make the most of those four days, okay? I only have a couple of appointments tomorrow afternoon, so I'm planning on spending the rest of the day as close to you as possible."

"I can't wait," she replied, a grin starting to spread across her face.

"Me either," murmured Max throatily as his gaze darkened and burned into hers.

Without further hesitation, he lowered his lips to hers, his kiss a mixture of passionate and needy. Liz felt her eyes slide closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sunk into the kiss, giving it everything she had.

She didn't care that they were in public and that if they didn't stop soon, their embrace would begin to border on indecent; she just wanted to savour this moment… kissing the most wonderful, amazing man she'd ever met at the top of the Empire State Building.

It was like a Hollywood movie or something.

_TBC…_


	22. Chapter 22

**Part Twenty-Two**

"Okay," murmured Liz softly, as she glanced over the open suitcase on Max's bed before turning to him with sad eyes. "I think I'm just about done."

"That's great," Max forced a smile onto his face as he stepped closer to her, slipping his arms around her waist from behind.

He exhaled heavily, his eyes sliding closed at the feel of her body pressed against him. It was a feeling he wanted to savour for as long as possible; he didn't know when he was going to be able to see her again once she stepped onto that plane in a couple of hours. In fact, he couldn't believe the last two weeks had flown by so quickly…it felt like he'd only just picked her up from the airport yesterday and now it was Friday… the day he'd been dreading.

He'd meant what he'd said on Monday night in New York; they were going to make the most of the four days they had left together… and make the most of them they did. The whole of Tuesday morning had been spent alone together in their hotel suite, laughing, talking, snuggling… making love. In the afternoon, Liz had accompanied him to his interviews, seemingly happy to sit back and observe him while he was working, and then he'd taken her out to a Knicks game in the evening. It was a perfect day, just hanging out and, for the most part, being a normal couple. Sure there had been paps hanging around at Madison Square Garden, just waiting to take their picture, but for once, he hadn't cared all that much about he and Liz being seen together.

Wednesday had been a good day too. Liz had spent the morning visiting some of the city's museums while he'd attended the last of his press and interview appointments, and then they'd spent the afternoon together wandering through Central Park, trying to avoid the paps when they inevitably caught up with them. The plane ride back to L.A. later that evening had been basically the opposite of the one to New York three days earlier… this time, Liz was the one sleeping through the journey, leaving Max to observe her, beautiful in slumber. He'd spent most of the long journey wondering what on Earth he was going to do with himself when she left L.A. in two days.

Now, more than ever, he knew they had to make it work… somehow. He hadn't told her yet, not wanting to get her hopes up, but he'd been looking into the possibility of relocating to London to be closer to her. Sure, it wouldn't be the most practical decision, with his agent, manager and publicist all in California, not to mention the majority of the work being based in Los Angeles, but at this point in time, he didn't really care. Of course, then there was the issue of getting a visa to live in England. From what he had read on the immigration websites, he could get a temporary worker visa for creative and sports people, but it would only allow him to stay there for a few months and he would need to have work lined up in the UK beforehand, but if he wanted to stay in London on a long-term basis, there was only one real visa option: marriage. And at this point in their relationship, he didn't think he and Liz were ready for that. So, for now, he had seen any other option than to say goodbye to her at the end of her stay and try to get through the next few months in a long-distance relationship.

"Yeah," sighed Liz sadly, bringing Max back to the present. "All packed and ready to go."

He tightened his arms around her, wanting to keep her as close as possible for as long as he could. He opened his mouth to speak, but he just couldn't think of anything to say to lighten the mood.

"I've had such an amazing time here, Max," she said then. "The best two weeks of my life."

"Yeah?" he murmured, lowering his head and letting his lips trail along her neck. "Me, too."

He smiled against her skin as her head fell to the side and a small moan escaped her lips. Her hand came up to cradle his jaw as he continued with his gentle kisses.

"God…" she sighed longingly. "I don't want to go."

"So don't go," he returned against her soft, warm skin. "Stay here with me."

She shook her head and he saw a small smile grace her perfect features, "You know I can't stay, Max. I really want to, but I can't."

"I know," he replied, as his hands slid up over her stomach and cupped her breasts through the thin shirt she was wearing. "How much time do we have?"

Liz sucked in a breath as his fingers brushed across her nipples suggestively, before managing to say, "I have to be at the airport in two hours."

"That's plenty of time."

With a wide smile, Max moved his hands back to her stomach again and tugged at the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head. She lifted her arms obligingly and he let the top fall to the floor. Her bra was the next to go, followed by his own shirt, leaving them standing together, the warm skin of her back pressed up against his bare chest. Returning to nuzzling her neck, he gently teased the sensitive skin of her breast with one hand as the other skimmed down over her abdomen to the waistband of her jeans. Deftly undoing the top button and sliding the zipper down, he slipped his fingers into her panties. As he came into contact with the hot flesh there and began to stroke gently, Liz gasped, her back arching in response, which in turn caused his own arousal to intensify.

"Yes… Max…" she whispered urgently. "I need…"

"God, what am I going to do when you're gone?" he muttered raggedly, his own breathing becoming erratic as she rolled her hips back against him.

"Spend lots of time with your right hand?" she joked, her voice breathless and enticing.

"Liz!" he exclaimed, lifting his head from her neck and looking down at her in surprise.

"What?" she grinned wickedly.

He shook his head in amusement, "I can't believe you just said that."

She just rolled her eyes and tilted her head up, pulling his face towards her for a heated kiss. His mind was still reeling from her retort when they parted several moments later, but it was forgotten quickly with her next words.

"Make love to me, Max," she implored softly. "I want to feel you…"

Max gave her a smile as he urged her towards the bed, "As if I could say no."

* * *

Liz knew the exact moment that she fell back down to Earth with a bump. It was the second she stepped out of Heathrow airport on Saturday morning to a cold breeze and heavy, grey clouds that matched her sombre mood. She'd been sad to say goodbye to Max at his house last night, and even sadder that he wouldn't be coming to the airport with her–they'd decided it best that she left as undetected as possible–and she'd even spent most of the flight holding back the tears that were threatening to fall the moment she let her guard down… but all of that was nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling of loss and sadness that bore down on her as soon as she stepped back onto English soil again.

She'd had to survive without Max before, during those two weeks after he'd flown back to L.A., but this was different. This time she didn't have anything to look forward to; she wasn't going to be flying to California to see him and he wasn't going to be coming over to London anytime soon. She'd just left everything she'd come to love over the last few weeks and months back in Los Angeles and all she had left here was her job and her rented flat. Well, no, that wasn't true; she still had Maria, Michael, her friends back home and her parents, yet right now none of them seemed to matter as much as the fact that she'd had to say goodbye to the man she loved just thirteen hours ago.

Yes, that's right; she loved him. She supposed she had for a while now, but she'd only just admitted it to herself in the last few days. Only problem was, she hadn't quite gathered up the courage to admit it to Max himself yet.

Liz sighed heavily as a gust of wind whipped around her suddenly, reminding her where she was. Dragging her bags over to the taxi rank, she hailed a cab and as the driver lifted her bags into the car, she got settled in for the hour-long journey back to her flat. Max had suggested she take a taxi from the airport instead of public transport, just in case the press discovered she was back in London before she made it home. At first, she had refused, knowing how expensive taxi fares between Heathrow and Central London were (over a hundred dollars!) and feeling that it was unnecessary, but he'd insisted and had even offered to pay the fare for her if it was going to be too expensive. As much as she really didn't like the notion of being 'taken care of' financially, she had to admit that her money was running low and that she really couldn't afford to pay more than the cheap train fare she had planned on and so she reluctantly accepted his offer.

Liz felt totally exhausted by the time the taxi pulled up outside her flat an hour later. She paid the driver and then lugged her bags up to the familiar apartment. Once inside, she simply dropped her things to the floor and made her way into the bedroom, collapsing on the bed and finally allowing her tears to fall. It had only been a few hours, but she missed Max so much, more than she ever imagined she would. She was aching to pick up the phone and call him, but it was still the middle of the night in California and he would still be sleeping.

Logically, she knew that if she wanted to get her body back to UK time and get over the jet lag, she needed to stay awake for as long as possible today, but right now, she really didn't really care. Maybe if she shut her eyes and got some sleep, she could pretend that Max wasn't really all those thousands of miles away.

It was late afternoon when she was woken from her heavy slumber by the sound of the phone ringing. With an annoyed groan, she pried her eyes open and dragged herself out of bed and into the living room to pick up the phone.

"'Lo?" she muttered sleepily into the receiver.

"Lizzie, darling, you're home!"

"Mum, hi," Liz perked up a little at the sound of her mother's voice on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I just got in this morning."

"So, how was the trip? Did you have a good time in L.A. with Max?"

"Oh, yeah, it was amazing," Liz replied enthusiastically, her earlier exhaustion and sadness forgotten for the time being. "I had a great trip. We even went to New York for a few days last week."

"Wow," murmured Nancy in response. "You're really living the high life now."

"Yeah, I guess," shrugged Liz; she didn't really like to think of it that way though.

"So, now that you're back, are you planning to come and see us soon?"

"Of course I will," assured Liz with a smile. "Just give me a few days to adjust to being home again and I'll come for a visit… how's next weekend?"

"Sounds wonderful, honey." Her mum sounded delighted. "But just to warn you that a few people have been talking about you and Max recently… after seeing you in the papers and magazines."

Liz's heart skipped a beat at that. Sure, she knew that there was no escaping media attention now that she and Max had gone public, but it didn't seem so bad when she'd been out there in Tinsel Town. However, knowing that all the people she grew up with would now know all about her love life, she felt more than a bit overwhelmed.

"Oh, okay," she managed softly. "Thanks for letting me know."

"You sound a bit out of sorts," Nancy sounded concerned. "Are you sure you're okay with all this?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am," sighed Liz. "It's all just kind of strange, you know?"

"Well, I can imagine," replied Nancy with a small laugh. "But the best advice I can give you is not to let it get to you and not to let it affect your relationship with Max. If it's meant to be, it will be."

"Thanks, Mum," murmured Liz gratefully.

"It's what I'm here for," she joked. "So, how was your flight home? I bet you're exhausted."

"Yeah, pretty much," agreed Liz. "I was actually asleep when you called."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," apologised Nancy quickly. "I'll let you go now."

"Oh, no, don't worry," she insisted. "I should be trying to stay awake anyway, otherwise I'll never get over the jet lag."

"Oh, okay, then. Why don't you tell me all about your trip?"

* * *

Max woke up on Saturday morning feeling like shit. After Liz had left for the airport the evening before, he'd ended up just moping around the house, wishing she was still there. At around eight o'clock, his friends Joe and Tom had come round with beer and pizza and he'd hung out with them for a few hours. By the time he'd gotten to bed in the early hours of the morning, he was more than a little drunk and as a result, he'd barely gotten any sleep and was now suffering with a pounding hangover. But, hey, at least the alcohol took his mind off Liz for a while.

He dragged himself out of bed and slowly headed downstairs, only to find Tom and Joe still crashed out on the large sofas in the den. Nursing his sore head, he made his way into the kitchen and started the coffee machine, before reaching into one of the cupboards for some aspirin. As he poured a glass of water, his gaze fell upon the phone on the counter and his thoughts turned to Liz once again. He was tempted to reach for it and dial her number, but he knew it wasn't a good idea right now, not when his head was pounding, he was in desperate need of a shower to freshen up and his friends were still here. No, he would wait a couple of hours until he was feeling more normal and was actually capable of holding a comprehensive conversation with her.

When the coffee was done, Max poured a mug for himself and, chancing a glance into the den on his way back to the stairs to see the guys still dead to the world, he carried it upstairs to his bedroom. Taking a sip of the strong, steaming coffee, he placed the mug down on his bedside table and began peeling off his clothes as he made his way into the en-suite bathroom and turned on the shower. As he reached for a towel, he caught a glimpse of himself in the wide mirror above the sink and rolled his eyes at the miserable bastard with bloodshot eyes and dark circles staring back at him. If this was what just a few hours away from Liz did to him, how was he gonna survive the next few weeks, maybe even months without seeing her?

Lifting a hand to massage the back of his aching neck, he stepped into the shower and let the hot spray cover him. Resting his hands against the wall, he let his head fall forward as the water flowed over his stiff, tired muscles. As he stood there, just letting his body relax, he thought about how much his life had changed in the past few months. Less than six months ago, he had been happy with his life, with just having a few fairly casual relationships and not really wanting to settle down just yet; but meeting Liz Parker at Christmas had changed all that. Last December, all he'd been thinking about was having a fun and enjoying the single life, but now he couldn't imagine not having her in his life.

It was after midday by the time he managed to get rid of Joe and Tom and pick up the phone to call Liz. He winced as he glanced at the clock and realised it was getting late in London and he just hoped she was still awake.

"Hello?"

He couldn't help but grin at the sound of her soft voice, "Hey, Liz, it's me."

"Max!" her voice brightened on the other end and he smiled widely. "Hi!"

"I didn't wake you or anything, did I?" he asked, hoping he hadn't disturbed her.

"No, I'm fine," she replied. "Stupid me slept for three hours earlier so I'm not even tired now."

"Oh, right," he knew firsthand how bad jet lag could be, but was secretly relieved that they had some time to talk. "So, how was your flight?"

"Long and boring," she sighed, before adding, "and lonely."

"I know what you mean," he sympathised. "God, it's too quiet here without you."

"Same here," she murmured and Max's chest tightened as her voice hitched. "I miss you, Max."

"I miss you, too," he admitted gently. "I wish I could have come back with you, but I have another project coming up soon and I'm needed here."

"I know," she replied. "And I have to go back to work on Monday."

"It will get better, Liz," he tried to be convincing although he wasn't too sure about that himself; he didn't see how it could get better if they were apart.

"How long do you think it will be before we can see each other again?" she sounded so lost and vulnerable that his heart went out to her.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "But I promise you that the first chance I get, I will fly out there to see you."

"Really?"

There was new excitement in her voice and he couldn't help but smile in response.

"Yes, really," he replied.

"I can't wait."

"Me either."

There was a short pause in the conversation and Max could hear Liz moving something around. He closed his eyes briefly as he pictured her in her apartment, imagining that he was there with her too.

"So, do you have anything planned for the rest of the weekend?" he asked then.

"Apart from sleeping?" she joked. "Not really, but if I'm not too tired, I was thinking of maybe doing something with Maria tomorrow."

"That sounds good," he nodded, although he knew she couldn't see him. "Tell Michael I said hi."

"I will."

They talked for almost two hours, until Liz finally gave into the tiredness and he had to let her go. He hung up the phone with a heavy sigh and glanced out of the window at the bright sunshine outside. It was funny how he'd always loved the sunshine before, but without Liz, the beautiful weather just didn't seem worth enjoying anymore.

God, how pathetic was he?

_No, not pathetic,_ he decided a moment later, _just in love with the most amazing, kind and beautiful woman I've ever met._

_TBC…_


	23. Chapter 23

**Part Twenty-Three**

Liz slept late the next morning, jetlag catching up with her, and it was almost midday when she finally opened her eyes. She gave a contented sigh as she stretched languidly and then sank back against the soft pillows beneath her head; she hadn't felt this relaxed and rested in a long time. She smiled lazily and let herself simply lie there for a few more moments, her eyes sliding closed once more as she savoured the feeling of being back in her own bed again. It was only about ten seconds later, however, when the events of the past two weeks with Max came rushing back to her and her eyes shot open, her good mood suddenly evaporating. With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and padded across her bedroom to the bathroom, where she turned on the shower and stepped into it, trying her best to take her mind off the fact that she was alone and the man she loved was six thousand miles away.

Despite the hot shower being just what she needed to start the day, it didn't actually manage to distract her from thoughts of Max… in fact it only served to remind her of the amazing shower time they'd shared together in New York last week and instead of calming her down, the feeling of the water cascading over her naked body only served to turn her on. Letting out a frustrated groan, Liz shook her head, trying to clear away the inappropriate thoughts that were running through her mind at full speed now. She could be strong; she wouldn't give in to the urges of her body… _oh, what the hell_, she thought, as she let her hands slide down over her stomach; it wasn't like she would be getting any for a while anyway.

Thirty minutes and a very enjoyable shower later, Liz stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, a sated smile playing on her lips. Of course, it wasn't the same without Max here, but she would have to take what she could get from now on. Throwing on the first items of clothing she found in her dresser, she eyed the bulging suitcase in the corner of the room for a moment, knowing that it was full of laundry that needed doing, and then rolled her eyes as she left the bedroom. The laundry could wait until later. She made herself a cup of coffee and went to find something to eat, before quickly realising that there was no food in the flat at all. With a sigh, she carried the mug of steaming coffee back into her bedroom and reached for her phone to call Maria and ask if she wanted to grab some lunch.

Less than an hour later, Liz was sitting in one of her favourite little cafés waiting for her best friend to arrive. Hating sitting alone in public with nothing to do, she reached for a discarded magazine on a nearby table and began flicking through it. The front cover advertised an interesting-sounding real-life story regarding a cheating husband, but as she tried to find the right page, her gaze fell on a certain picture with an accompanying blurb that made her stop in her tracks.

It was a photo of her and Max in New York, his arms wrapped around her waist as he looked down into her eyes, a small smile gracing his features; but Liz's eyes only lingered on his face for a second, as it was the picture of her, gazing up at him happily as if he was her entire world, that caught her attention instead. She couldn't believe that the beautiful, love-struck girl in the photo was actually her. Her heart constricted in her chest slightly as she continued to gaze down at the photo, before flicking to the short article beside it.

_Max Evans and his new love were spotted cosying up to each other in New York on several occasions this week. They were seen out and about in the city a number of times, including at the top of the Empire State Building, relaxing at a Knicks game Tuesday night and walking together in Central Park on Wednesday, seemingly so engrossed with each other that they hardly noticed anything going on around them. It is common knowledge that Max has preferred to keep his relationships casual in the past, but inside sources tell us this one is the real deal for him. "He's completely in love with Liz," our source tells us, "it's so obvious; he can barely keep his eyes… or his hands… off her." Well, then, Liz, it looks like you've got a keeper there… I'd hang on to him if I were you._

_Oh, I'm planning on it__, _thought Liz to herself with a small smile as she finished reading the article and turned back to look at the photograph again.

"Oh my God, Lizzie!" screeched a familiar voice just then, causing Liz's head to snap up in surprise. "You're back!"

"Maria, hey," she grinned happily, standing up to greet her friend as Maria barrelled forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Did you have a good time?" asked Maria excitedly when she finally let go of Liz and looked at her with an impish grin, before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her down to sit at the table as she rambled on. "Come on, you have to tell me everything. How was L.A? I bet it was amazing! Oh, and Max… I want all the gory details, girl!"

"Whoa, hang on a minute, 'Ria," chuckled Liz, holding her free hand up to halt her friend's chatter. "Give me a chance to get settled down first! Why don't we order the food and then we'll talk properly, okay?"

"Spoilsport," pouted Maria, although her expression was amused. "Fine, let's order some lunch… but then you're telling me everything."

Quickly choosing their food, which was easy since they always ate exactly the same thing every time they came to this café – a jacket potato with tuna mayo and a side salad for Liz and a bowl of roast parsnip soup and French bread for Maria, plus a cappuccino each – they placed their order at the counter, paid and headed back to the table with their drinks.

"Right then," announced Maria as she took a sip of her cappuccino. "You have to tell me all about your trip."

"Well," started Liz with a wide smile, resting her elbows on the table so she could lean in a little closer to Maria. "It was amazing! L.A. is totally incredible… I just wanted to stay there forever." She let out a happy sigh, "God, Maria, he even came to pick me up from the airport in a limo!"

"Ooh, Lizzie," Maria's eyes lit up with excitement. "Please tell me you got some hot limo action!"

"Well…" hedged Liz, enjoying her friend's enthusiasm. "Actually, no."

"Aww, come on, Liz!" sighed Maria in exasperation. "You were all alone in a limo with Max Evans… how could you not have taken advantage of that?"

"Well, it's not like the suggestion didn't come up," she hinted. "In fact, Max was pretty into the idea."

"And you turned him down? Are you crazy?"

"'Ria," Liz rolled her eyes, "I'd just spent eleven hours on a plane and it was my first time in L.A. I didn't want to miss out on seeing the city because I was shagging Max in back of the limo." Suddenly she grinned, "Plus, I knew we had plenty of time for that later on."

"Oh?" Maria's expression became mischievous as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Do tell."

"God, Maria, is sex all you think about?" teased Liz with an amused grin.

"Only when my best friend is doing a movie star," retorted Maria, sticking her tongue out in response.

Liz just rolled her eyes at that and chose to continue describing her time in Los Angeles, from the picnic she'd shared with Max up in the hills, the barbecue with his friends and the incredible restaurant they'd eaten at in her first couple of days there, to the film premiere, their day at Disneyland and finally their trip to New York a few days ago. By the end of it all, Maria's eyes were practically bugging out of her head and she was moaning about how Michael never did anything special like that for her.

Liz just gave a sympathetic chuckle at that, before reassuring her, "Maria, you're, like, Michael's whole world. That man would do anything for you, you know that"–Maria gave a reluctant nod in agreement–"and anyway, it's Max I love, not the things he does for me. I would love him even if he was just a regular guy."

"Whoa, whoa, just hold on a minute there!" exclaimed Maria, her earlier disappointment forgotten now. "Did you just say you _love_ Max? When did this happen."

"Oh crap," Liz closed her eyes in embarrassment when she realised what she'd let slip. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that… I haven't even told _him_ yet."

"But seriously, you love him?" probed Maria, leaning forward for the gossip.

"Yeah, yeah I do," admitted Liz then with a happy grin, looking her friend in the eye. "But I only just admitted it to myself yesterday so don't tell anyone, okay? I don't want Max hearing it from anyone but me."

"Oh, wow, this is so great!" squealed Maria, unable to hold in her excitement over Liz's revelation. "Ooh, maybe we can have a double wedding or something? Once I persuade Michael to propose, that is."

"Hey, hey, hold your horses for a minute, 'Ria!" she held her hands up to halt the direction the conversation was taking. "I think it's a bit early to be discussing marriage, don't you? We've only been together for a few months!"

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't thought about it though, Lizzie," said Maria knowingly. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Well…" she tried to stall, but soon realised it was pointless. "Okay, maybe the thought has crossed my mind once or twice–"

"I knew it!"

A wistful look entered Liz's eye as her mind drifted to thoughts of a big white wedding in the California sunshine; Max looking extremely handsome in a tux, his eyes sparkling with love as she walked down the aisle towards him… but she quickly shook her head to clear it; this was reality, not some fantasy, and she and Max were nowhere near the marriage stage. Hell, she hadn't even told him she loved him yet and she had no idea if he even felt the same way about her.

"Look, can we just drop the marriage talk for now, please?" Liz pleaded quietly. "Let's talk about something else, okay? How's everything been going with you the last couple of weeks?"

The conversation turned to Maria and her constant struggle to make it as a singer in London, while still holding down a job as a law firm secretary during the daytime hours. The two friends laughed together as the conversation steered away from the subject of Max and marriage and towards Maria describing a particularly embarrassing incident for a new performer at an open mic night the other night. Liz found that she was thoroughly enjoying herself laughing and joking with Maria and suddenly life didn't seem so bad after all. She could do this; she could survive here without Max, at least for a little while… although she couldn't help her mind from wandering back to that perfect wedding scene she'd envisaged earlier every now and then.

However, after the lovely Sunday afternoon spent catching up with Maria, the next few days passed so slowly for Liz that she felt like she was going to explode with frustration. Maria had helped take her mind off being miserable and missing Max, but as soon as Monday morning rolled around, the sadness she'd felt when she'd returned home from the airport returned in full force.

It didn't help matters that when she arrived at work that morning, the office had been buzzing with excitement over her return… apparently one of the girls on reception had seen some pictures of Liz and Max together in a gossip magazine a few days earlier and had shown them to just about everyone in the company. Her secret was out and there was no way to avoid the attention that came with it. All day long, she had to deal with people looking in her direction and then whispering to each other, completely unsubtly, and also her colleague, Steve, the one who'd suggested she was in love all those weeks ago, kept sending her teasing jibes from his desk across the room.

As the week progressed, the attention died down a little, but Liz found she still couldn't concentrate on her work and she ended up simply counting down the hours until she could head home and hopefully talk to Max on the phone… except that she'd barely had a chance to talk to him all week. They'd managed to speak a couple of times, but only for a few minutes at a time as the first time, Max had been in between errands and the second time Maria had knocked on her door during their phone call and dragged her out to a dance club for the night. At least she was going back home to see her parents and hopefully her other friends at the weekend though… that was at least something to look forward to and it might help take her mind off Max.

* * *

Max sighed heavily as he pulled into the parking lot of his manager's office on Monday morning; now that Liz had gone, it was back to work as normal and his day was already filling up fast with meetings and phone calls. Apparently Sandy was anxious to talk with him about his new project – a small, independent film being directed by Philippe Benoît, an up-and-coming Frenchman, which was due to start filming in Paris in a few weeks' time – and his publicist had something important she wanted to discuss with him. Getting out of his SUV and heading inside the modern building, he decided that his job wasn't actually all that different from Liz's… it could certainly be boring at times, especially when he was between projects and had to handle all the tedious behind-the-scenes stuff like signing contracts, sitting in long meetings with stuffy men in suits and dealing with his finances. Sure, the acting side was amazing, but in reality, he only spent a few weeks, maybe even a few months, of the year actually doing it.

"Good morning, Max," smiled his manager when he entered her office a few minutes later.

"Morning, Sandy, " he nodded in greeting, before noticing with slight surprise that his publicist was in the room too. "Adele, hey, what are you doing here?"

"Hi, Max," nodded Adele, only briefly looking up from the folder of paperwork in her hand to greet him. "There have some changes to your upcoming press tour schedule, which look like they might to coincide with your trip to Paris, so I thought it would be easier for us to figure them out if I was here today too."

"Oh, okay," nodded Max, feeling slightly out of the loop as he took a seat next to Adele, getting comfortable as Sandy settled in behind her desk. "What's up?"

"Well," started Sandy, as she shuffled through some papers in front of her, "as you know, filming for your new project begins in Paris in a month. Now, your visa paperwork is being processed for you as we speak, so that won't be a problem, but Adele informs me that, due to the success of _Love's Complication_'s opening weekend, there have been some last minute adjustments to the film's European premiere and release dates."

"Oh?" he murmured, glancing between his manager and his publicist with interest.

"Yeah," piped up Adele. "It seems the film exceeded expectations among US audiences this weekend and they want to move up the European premiere in London to next Wednesday and the official UK release date to the week after."

"Really?" murmured Max, trying to not to show the sudden excitement he felt about the possibility of flying to London and seeing Liz again as soon as next week.

"Yep," nodded Adele. "You'll be flying out to London for the premiere Monday night and returning to L.A. Thursday morning."

"Okay, that's fine," said Max, taking that in, his mind running through all the possibilities of spending time with Liz during his time in London. "But what does this have to do with Sandy and my trip to Paris next month?"

"I was just getting to that," Adele rolled her eyes at him affectionately as she sifted through her paperwork for a moment and Max fought back a smirk at her reaction. "Right, well, the film is now scheduled for release in several other European countries during the time that you'll be in Paris. Which is why I've been conferring with Sandy to figure out how to fit the European press tour dates in with your Paris filming dates."

"Oh, right," nodded Max in understanding.

If he was honest though, he suddenly wasn't looking forward to what was surely to be an extremely busy few weeks next month. It was hard enough trying to cope with the long days of filming in a foreign city, without adding in extra travel to other countries for interviews and TV spots.

"This is how it's going to work, Max," spoke up Sandy now, her tone authoritative. "You'll be flying out to Europe a few days early for a quick-stop tour of Germany, Italy and Spain before filming begins in Paris."

"I will?" he gulped; this whole Europe thing was starting to sound more and more like a bad idea as the conversation continued.

"You will," confirmed his manager. "I just got off the phone with Philippe, the director, and he's agreed to shuffle the filming schedule around a little to allow you to cover the remaining press events that will be taking place while you're in France."

"And he's really okay with that?" wondered Max, for lack of anything else to say.

"Well, he's willing to compromise, at least," replied Sandy. "He knows how important you are to his film – with you on board, he's hoping that the project will get international recognition."

"Oh, so I'm just there to draw in audiences now, am I?" Max couldn't stop the sarcastic retort from spilling from his lips. "That's just great!"

"Max, come on, you've been in this industry long enough to know how things work," said Sandy, sending him a disbelieving look.

"Well, in that case, I'm not sure I'm happy making movie anymore," he frowned. "If I'm going to be putting myself through the stress of filming and doing all that press at the same, then I want to know it's for a good reason."

"Max, listen to me," Sandy shook her head at him. "It's not just that you're a big name, okay? This director wants you specifically for your talent. He's excited to work with you and doesn't want to pass up this opportunity to have you star in his latest project."

"Really?" he was sceptical.

"Yes, really. Look, this movie is going to be beneficial for both of you, okay? Philippe Benoît gets his big-name actor and you get a chance to showcase your talent and further your career without dealing with all that blockbuster, big-studio shit."

"Well, when you put it that way… fine, put me down for the press stuff too," shrugged Max in defeat, realising that he didn't have a choice but to deal with the impending large workload.

He had to admit that he was excited about this new project and for the opportunity to work with the young director. He'd checked out a couple of the Frenchman's earlier projects and had been very impressed with the quality of the acting and camera work in them… despite the films being entirely in French. The new movie, though, was going to be mostly English language, something Max was grateful for, as what little French he knew was rusty at best.

The meeting continued relatively smoothly, with Sandy and Adele discussing the finer points of the Paris arrangements and sorting out the dates between them while Max just sat back and left them to it. However, it wasn't long before the conversation turned to the topic of his relationship with Liz and how they were going to handle the press interest that was inevitably only going to gain momentum the longer their relationship continued. Adele and Sandy managed to get into a heated discussion regarding the consequences of Max dating a 'normal girl', as they obviously had completely different opinions on the matter and by the end of the morning, he was feeling totally exhausted.

Once he finally managed to close the meeting and head outside to his car, he wasted no time in getting the hell out of there and heading for some food before his afternoon appointments: a meeting with his accountant, a conference call and a phone interview. What he really wanted to do instead however, was pick up the phone and call Liz with the good news that he would be coming to see her in a few days, but there was no time right now… and part of him kind of wanted to not tell her and let it to be a surprise when he turned up on her doorstep next week. Suddenly he couldn't wait for Monday.

_TBC…_


	24. Chapter 24

**Part Twenty-Four**

Monday couldn't come fast enough for Max. It had been hard enough talking to Liz on the phone almost every day for the past week without accidentally letting it slip that he would be coming to see her soon. He'd been slightly worried that she would hear about his presence at the upcoming London premiere via the press, but from what he had gathered from their conversations, she'd been too busy the last few days to bother paying attention to the news. He'd last spoken to her yesterday afternoon – late evening for her in London – and she'd just returned from spending the weekend back at home with her parents. He suppressed a smile as he thought about that call.

When she'd mentioned that her mum had been asking about him during her visit, his thoughts had gone back to the few days he'd spent at her home over Christmas… and exactly what he and Liz had got up to Christmas morning while Nancy and Jeff had been at church. That memory only served to make him even more wound up about seeing her again in a couple of days than he already was and he wasn't sure how much longer he could last without touching her again.

Thankfully, it was finally Monday morning and he was in the VIP lounge at LAX, waiting to board his plane to Heathrow. Despite the fact that the plane was due to take off from Los Angeles at nine a.m., he wouldn't actually arrive in London until about six o'clock tomorrow morning. _Bloody eight-hour time difference_, he thought to himself as he checked the flight information screen for his boarding time, which he was sure was supposed to be any minute, _I'm going to be so jet-legged after this_. Then he couldn't help but smile to himself at his internal use of British slang; it seemed Liz was rubbing off on him, just as he was on her.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," came a female voice over the PA system just then, interrupting his thoughts. "Welcome to Virgin Atlantic flight 762 with service to London Heathrow, we are now ready to begin boarding. We would like to welcome our First and Business Class passengers and any passengers requiring special assistance aboard. Thank you."

With a smile, Max reached for his carry-on bag and headed for the boarding gate. The flight itself was fairly uneventful, although it was obvious that the airline staff were a little star-struck by his presence in their first class section. He had no idea why, though, since he was sure they saw many celebrities flying the route from L.A. to London. Despite the comfort of flying first class and the stewardesses efforts to ensure he had everything he needed for a relaxing overnight flight, Max found it difficult to sleep on the plane, his body full of anxiousness to hold Liz in his arms once again. He couldn't wait for the plane to land in London.

Instead of letting his mind blank out and getting some rest, he found this thoughts turning to what he was going to say to her when he finally arrived. He'd spent a fair amount of time the last few days thinking about how he was going to admit his true feelings for her… and he'd come to the conclusion that when he did finally tell her he loved her it would have to be perfect – maybe he could arrange something special for her in Paris when he was filming there. Although she'd made it clear several times that she didn't need extravagant gestures or lots of money spent on her, he couldn't help but want to give her the best; God knows she deserved it.

The flight seemed to take forever; it felt like longest flight he'd ever been on, and that was saying something since he'd spent plenty of time on planes in the past few years, so it was a big relief when the captain announced that they would be landing soon. Full of nervous energy, Max ran a hand down over his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes – he'd managed to nod off briefly a couple of hours ago, but he'd been abruptly woken when the attendants had turned the cabin lights back on and begun serving breakfast about half an hour ago. Although why they felt the need to serve breakfast at four-thirty a.m. London time, he had no clue… after all, it was only eight in the evening in Los Angeles!

The plane landed on time at just after six o'clock, and Max was quickly ushered off the plane by one of the stewards, so as not to draw the attention of the other passengers. As it was so early in the morning and his flight was one of the first to land, the immigration lines were almost empty and with just a quick, 'How are you, Mr. Evans? What brings you to the UK today?' from the immigration officer, he was stamped into the UK. He had to wait a few minutes for his baggage, but was through customs and greeted by his personal driver within half an hour of leaving the plane. He had his driver take him to his hotel first, so that he could freshen up before seeing Liz again, which actually turned out to be a good decision because he spotted the paps as soon as he got into the car and, had he gone straight to Liz's flat, he was sure that they would have followed to find out where she lived.

After a quick shower and shave in his hotel room, Max called down to his driver and requested that he be picked up from the back of the building in a different car to the one he'd been in earlier, to ensure that the paps wouldn't follow him. A grin spread across his face as he grabbed a few things from his suitcase and headed out to where his driver was waiting for him downstairs. He almost couldn't believe he was so close to seeing Liz again after spending ten long, lonely days without her. Man, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she opened the door to him this morning… now if only he could make it there before she left for work.

* * *

"Oh, bugger!" exclaimed Liz as her eyes flew open and she shot up in bed on Tuesday morning, taking a quick look at the clock. "Bollocks. Shit, shit, shit!"

It was eight-oh-five and the alarm on her phone was supposed to have gone off at seven … except when she reached for the phone to check it, she realised that the alarm hadn't actually been set in the first place. Dammit, if only she hadn't been moping around with a bottle of wine last night, wondering why Max hadn't called her yet, she might have remembered to do it.

"Fuck, what am I gonna do now?" she muttered angrily, throwing off the covers and scrambling out of the bed, frantically searching the room for her work clothes.

There was no way she'd get to work on time now – every morning, like clockwork, she left the flat at seven forty-five to catch the tube into her office. She didn't live all that far from her place of work – just a few miles – but in order to get there, she had to take both the Bakerloo and the Central lines, which could take ages in rush hour time. Giving up on finding any decent clothes to wear right now, Liz made her way out of her bedroom and went in search of the phone so she could call work and let them know she'd be late. However, just as she spotted it in the corner of the sofa, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was probably one of the neighbours, she let out a frustrated sigh and marched to the door, not caring in the slightest that she was still wearing her pyjamas – a small T-shirt and matching shorts… with cows on them. Just before she reached it, another knock sounded and she rolled her eyes in response.

"All right, all right, I'm coming," she muttered, turning in the knob and pulling the door open, ready to confront whomever it was that was making her even more late for work. "What is–? Oh my God!"

Her eyes widened in shock and her hand flew to her mouth at the sight before her. There, standing in the doorway in all his glory, was Max!

"Hey," he grinned, looking extremely delectable in a pair of designer jeans and a loose, button-down shirt, his hair in disarray and… slightly damp?

"Max! What are you doing here?" she gasped excitedly, her hand falling from her mouth and reaching for his wrist to pull him inside. A wide grin spread across her face and she began stumbling over her words in her haste to get them out, "I thought… I mean, you said you couldn't… why didn't you…?"

"I wanted to surprise you," he said in response to her unasked question, a wide smile gracing his handsome features as he stepped closer to her and slipped his arms around her waist.

"But… how?" she gasped out, still in shock at his sudden appearance.

Max chuckled softly before replying, "They moved up the date for the European premiere of _Love's Complication_… it's tomorrow night in Leicester Square. In fact, I'd love it if you'd come with me as my date."

"Really? Wow" she breathed, looking up at him happily. "This is great! I mean, of course I'll come with you… although I'm not sure I'll be able to find something to wear at such short notice."

"Oh, don't worry about that," he smirked. "I had Isabel sort something out for you. She called Caitlyn the other day and I have a selection of outfits in my hotel room for you to choose from."

"Well, okay then," grinned Liz excitedly. "I can't wait to try them on. Tell Isabel thank you for me."

"Will do."

A moment later though, she frowned, her expression suspicious, "Hang on a minute, exactly how long have you known about all this?"

Max raised his eyebrows, looking sheepish, "Um, since last Monday?"

"You've known for a whole week that you were coming here and you didn't tell me?" she admonished only half-seriously, lightly smacking his chest with the palm of her hand.

"I wanted to surprise you," he repeated with a shrug, tightening his arms around her waist as he gave her his best puppy-dog expression. "I just landed at Heathrow this morning."

At the adorable look in his eyes, Liz found herself melting and a grin tugged at her lips, "Well you've definitely surprised me."

"That was the intention," replied Max, responding with a grin of his own. "I was so glad when my manager told me I'd be flying out to London in a few days. I've barely been concentrate on anything all week, except the thought of being able to spend time with you again."

His gaze bore down into hers and Liz found her prior shock dissipating and morphing into a mixture of anticipation and desire at his words and the feel of his body so close to hers after ten long days apart.

"So how long do we have until you have to leave again?" she murmured as she let her hand drift up over his chest, her fingers gently tracing the lines of his defined muscles through his shirt.

"I fly back out to L.A. Thursday morning," he told her, before lowering his mouth to the sensitive spot on her neck that always made her knees turn to jelly when he kissed her there.

"Thursday? So soon?" she muttered in disappointment. "That's barely even forty-eight hours. I thought we'd have longer than that."

"I know, me too," replied Max, his warm breath caressing her skin as he pulled her closer, his hands sliding up her back. "But you gotta take what you can get."

As his mouth began moving upwards towards her jaw, Liz let her hands glide up over his shoulders to bury themselves in his hair, tugging him closer as she pressed the length of her body up against his. Her heart began thudding in her chest as his lips finally reached hers and captured them in an intense kiss, his tongue slipping inside her mouth, sending tingles of pleasure running down her spine.

"God, Max," she breathed, between kisses as Max backed her towards the bedroom, obviously intent on making up for lost time.

It wasn't until they'd passed through the door and had almost reached the bed that she remembered what she'd been doing just before he'd shown up a few minutes ago. She quickly broke the kiss and stepped out of Max's embrace.

"Fuck!"

"What?" he frowned in confusion. "What is it?"

"I haven't got time to do this now… I'm already late for work!" she exclaimed in annoyance, practically running out of the bedroom as she went to grab the phone from the living room.

"I overslept this morning," she said in explanation when Max followed her out of the bedroom. "I was about to call to tell them I was going to be late, when you knocked on the door. And now I'm going to be _extremely_ late."

She started dialling the familiar number, but Max came up behind her and placed his hand over hers, halting her progress.

"Wait," he murmured softly. "Stay home today… I want to have you all to myself."

Liz turned to face him, raising an eyebrow at his insinuation, "Are you suggesting I pull a sickie from work today so you can have your wicked way with me?"

"Of course not," he tried to look offended, but his smirk gave him away. "But I could do with you helping me stay awake so I'm not too jetlagged for the premiere tomorrow."

"Sure, whatever you say, Max." she nodded knowingly, pulling the phone out from under his hand and returning to the task at hand. "I don't think that calling in sick so I can have sex with my boyfriend is considered a valid reason though."

"Please, Liz," he pouted comically, causing Liz to bite her lip to stop herself from chuckling. "It's been ten whole days… what the hell am I going to do with myself while you're at work all day?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find something to do," she smirked, before lifting the phone to her ear, holding his gaze while she spoke to the person on the other end. "Hi there, this is Liz Parker. I'm afraid that"–she looked up at Max's pleading expression and made a snap decision –"that I'm going to have to call in sick today. I was up all night with food poisoning and I'm still not feeling well this morning. I'll try my best to make it in tomorrow though. Yes… yes, okay. Thank you. Bye."

She hung up, tossing the phone back onto the couch where she'd found it and turned to face Max, who was grinning widely at her.

"There you go… I just called in sick for you," she announced, trying very hard to keep her expression serious while her body wanted nothing more than to fling itself into his arms and stay there forever. "Happy now?"

"Deliriously," smirked Max as he reached for her again, pulling her against him. "Now where were we?"

His hands palmed her butt and a small sigh escaped her lips as he urged her to wrap her legs around his hips. Complying eagerly, Liz's eyes slid closed at the feel of his hardness pressed up against her intimately and in response, she grabbed his neck and pressed her lips to his urgently. Repeating their earlier path, Max headed into the bedroom again and kicked the door closed behind them, before turning and pressing Liz up against the wall as he kissed her hard.

"God, Liz, I need you," he muttered throatily, as his mouth began to travel along her jaw to her ear. "Been too long."

"Only ten days," she murmured softly, her fingers digging into his shoulders in response to the amazing things his mouth was doing to her sensitive skin. "Not that long."

"No," he denied, his voice just a whisper in her ear. "Definitely too long."

At the heartfelt words, Liz's eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to look at him fully. His serious, intense expression just seemed to cut right through her and tug at her heart and in that moment she felt such a rush of emotion toward him that she couldn't take it any longer; leaning forward to capture his mouth in hers, she kissed him fervently, before declaring determinedly, "Make love to me, Max. Right now."

* * *

"You realise we're gonna have to stay in here all day now?" murmured Liz dreamily as she relaxed back against Max's bare chest in bed an hour later, while he traced gentle patterns across her stomach. "I can't risk anyone seeing me with you when I'm supposed to be sick."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," returned Max, his smirk evident in his tone as he lowered his mouth to the side of her neck, placing a couple of soft kisses there. "In fact, I can think of nothing better to do than spend the day in bed with you."

Liz let a lazy grin spread across her face when one of his hands slid up to cup her breast, "Me either."

"God, you feel so good," he mumbled into her hair, his fingers caressing her nipple, causing a shiver of anticipation to shoot down her spine.

"Mmm," she managed, eyes sliding closed in response. "But… don't you, um… don't you have other things you should be doing today?"

"Nope," he declared firmly, before hesitating slightly. "Well, yeah, actually there are a couple of things, but I don't care; being here with you is more important than them."

"Really?" wondered Liz, feeling flattered by his declaration.

"Of course," he sounded surprised and his hands stilled against her skin. "Why wouldn't I want to be here with you?"

"Oh," she murmured softly, not really sure how to answer that. "Well, I…um, I don't know. I guess it's the same for me though, since I did blow off work to be with you today."

He gave a small chuckle, presumably in response to her slightly lame reply, before changing the subject, "So, since we're stuck in here all day, what do you want to do?"

"Well," grinned Liz, shifting her body back against him, "I would have thought that was obvious."

Max sucked in a breath in response to her movement and she couldn't help but groan softly as his arousal pressed firmly against her lower back and his hand on her stomach began to creep lower.

"Seriously?" he asked in amusement. "You wanna spend the entire day having sex? And here I thought it was the guy who was supposed to be the horn-dog."

"Hey, I haven't had any in almost two weeks!" retorted Liz, turning her head to stick her tongue out at him playfully. "And we've got less than forty-eight hours left before you have to leave… I wanna make the most of it, mister."

"Well, in that case, I'm definitely not complaining," he smiled, repeating his earlier words, even as his fingers began stroking her intimately while his other hand caressed her breast. "I just thought maybe you'd want to, I dunno, talk or something."

"We can still talk while we're in bed," she responded, although her voice was low, her breathing laboured, as Max's fingers worked their magic between her legs and she gasped when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. "God, don't stop."

"Oh, I won't," he muttered, nuzzling her neck as he continued to arouse her further. "I'm just getting started."

Liz let her head fall back against Max's shoulder, her eyes sliding closed as he stroked and caressed her until she was arching up off the bed, her body shaking with intense pleasure. Despite what she'd said earlier, very little talking actually got done as she and Max made love for the second time in as many hours.

* * *

It was almost evening by the time they finally emerged from Liz's bedroom; they had spent the entire morning and afternoon in bed, save for a quick run to the kitchen for sustenance around lunchtime and the odd bathroom trip. Being with Liz again felt so right to Max that he wasn't sure how he was going to make himself board that plane home to L.A. on Thursday morning.

"Okay, so what do you want?" asked Liz, sticking her head inside the refrigerator in the kitchen, while he leant against the counter, his eyes roaming her shirt-clad body hungrily. "I have … leftover lasagne and there's some salad bits… or maybe we could make omelettes… or I think there's a pizza in the freezer."

"I don't care," he shrugged, not really paying attention to what she was saying, his mind too preoccupied with thoughts of her and of their relationship. "Whatever you want."

"Very helpful, Max," she rolled her eyes at him, before shutting the fridge door and opening the freezer instead, pulling out the aforementioned frozen pizza. "Pepperoni all right?"

"Yeah, that's great," he murmured distractedly.

She shook her head slightly, apparently not all that pleased by his lack of response and moved past him to turn on the oven. While the pizza was cooking, he helped her make some salad to go with it, and they made small talk about what they'd been up to over the last week. Max wanted to discuss his upcoming filming and press schedule with her, but it didn't seem like the right time just then. However, when they were sitting down at the kitchen table with a glass of wine each and the food in front of them, Liz brought up the subject before he even had a chance to broach it.

"So, what's happening after you leave on Thursday?" she wondered, reaching for her glass and taking a sip of the smooth red wine. "Do you have much going on?"

"Well," he started, putting down the slice of pizza in his hand and looking at her seriously, "I'll be back in L.A. for a couple of weeks, but then I'm actually flying back over to Europe again for a couple of months."

"Really?" a wide smile broke out onto her face, eradicating the previous frown that had been there. "Does that mean I'll get to see you more often?"

He hesitated for a moment, before letting out a small sigh.

"I really don't know, Liz. I'm going to be really busy," he told her, wincing internally at the disappointment in her expression. "They've moved up the release date of the film across Europe, so I'm scheduled to do a three- day press tour in Germany, Italy and Spain, then I fly to Paris to film a new project, as well as fitting in extra press interviews while I'm there."

"Oh," murmured Liz in reply, looking down at her plate. "Okay. Well… never mind, then."

"Wait," he said urgently, reaching across the table and lifting her chin so she was looking at him directly. "I'll do whatever I can to see you as much as possible while I'm there, but I can't make any promises, okay?"

She didn't reply, but simply nodded instead. He could see that she was trying to hold in her emotions and he hated to do this to her, but he honestly had no idea how much free time he would have for her over the next couple of months.

"For the record, I'm as disappointed as you are about being apart from you, but there's nothing I can do about it, save for quitting my job."

Liz's eyes widened at this and shook her head quickly, "No, no, I don't want you to quit, especially not for me! You love what you do and I don't want to take that away from you… you just do what you have to do, okay?"

"Okay," nodded Max, giving her a small smile and letting his hand drop back down to the table.

"And well," she continued then, placing her fingers over his. "At least you'll be nearby… Paris is so much closer than L.A."

"You got that right," he agreed adamantly. "Plus, the time difference will only be one hour instead of eight."

"Thank God," she nodded with a grin. "I'll actually be able to talk to you at a reasonable hour again."

Max just grinned at that, before glancing down at the food on his plate and changing the subject, "So, this food is great, by the way."

"Well," she shrugged with a smirk. "Pizza is always good, right?"

"Definitely."

They turned their attention back to the food and ate in silence for a couple of minutes, before Liz looked up at him with a tender expression that made him grin happily back at her.

"So, tell me all about this new movie in Paris."

_TBC…_


	25. Chapter 25

**Part Twenty-Five**

"I'll see you later, okay?" whispered Max softly in Liz's ear the next morning.

It was barely dawn, but they'd agreed last night that it would be best if he left the flat as early as possible in the hope that he wouldn't be seen by anyone. It had been incredibly difficult to untangle himself from Liz's arms and leave the warm comfort of her bed a few minutes ago, but he knew he had to go. He'd tried not to wake her as he moved around the bedroom, pulling on his clothes and gathering up his belongings, knowing that she must be pretty exhausted after their activities yesterday, but as soon as he'd slipped out of the bed, he'd heard her breathing change and knew that she was no longer asleep.

"Mmm," murmured Liz, nodding slightly in response to his whispered words,

Her eyes remained closed as she snuggled deeper under the covers and he bit his lip, wishing to God that he could stay there and curl up in bed with her again.

"Can't wait until tonight," he added softly, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight as he perched on the edge of the bed and leaned down over her. "You're going to look amazing."

He watched as Liz pried her eyes open and shifted to face him with a small, sleepy, alluring smile that had the blood rushing straight to his groin and he moaned slightly in response.

"I don't even have anything to wear yet," she teased gently, her hand reaching out to touch his arm. "All the dresses are in your hotel room."

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged, his lips tugging up into a smirk as he gazed down at her lovely face. "You're gonna look amazing whatever you wear."

Her smile widened into a happy grin and she rolled her eyes self-consciously, causing Max to give a small chuckle, before he impulsively lowered his mouth to hers for a sweet kiss. Liz let out a low moan of disapproval when he pulled away and reluctantly stood up.

"Don't go," she pouted, reaching for him again and this time grabbing his wrist to hold him there.

"I have to," he told her gently. "If I don't go now, I'll never leave and then we'll end up having a repeat of yesterday."

"Yeah, and?" she raised an eyebrow, giving him an expectant look. "I wouldn't exactly be complaining about that."

He just chuckled at her words and shook his head, "I'm going now. Have a good day at work, okay? I'll see you later at the hotel."

"Sure, I'll head over there after work," nodded Liz, before stretching languidly in the bed, exposing most of her chest to him as she did so. "Have fun."

Max sighed as he forced himself to look away from the expanse of bare skin before him. She looked so tempting, but he had to be strong. He had to get out of there before he ended up back in bed with her.

"Bye," he murmured, although it didn't come out as firmly as he had been intending.

He leaned down to kiss her one last time before grabbing his jacket and heading out of the apartment. He'd already called ahead for his driver to pick him up from round the corner, so all he had to do now was get out of Liz's building and into the car without being seen. Pulling a hat out of his jacket pocket, he shoved it onto his head. He thought about adding sunglasses to the ensemble as well, but it was still fairly dark outside and they probably weren't necessary. As he reached the main door to the building, he took a quick glance out of the small window next to it and, seeing no one out there, he pulled it open. Head down, he made his way to the car that was waiting to take him back to his hotel and got in.

* * *

The day passed all too slowly for Liz. After Max had gone, she'd tried to get back to sleep, but she just couldn't settle again all by herself in the big, empty bed, so she relented and got up instead. By seven a.m., she'd already showered, dressed and eaten her breakfast and was now sitting on the sofa, twiddling her thumbs and wracking her brains for something to keep her mind off the fact that max wasn't here and she had to wait another eleven hours to see him again. In the end, she decided to leave for work early and as a result she was one of the first to arrive at the office that morning.

As nine a.m. approached, her colleagues began appearing one-by-one and she felt slightly guilty when they all asked how she was feeling and if she was over the food poisoning yet, but she couldn't bring herself to regret staying at home with Max yesterday. Thankfully though, none of them seemed to twig that her absence could have possibly been related to the fact that Max Evans was in town for the premiere of his new movie tonight.

Liz tried to get stuck into her work, but she just couldn't concentrate on what she was doing; her thoughts were too consumed by the knowledge that right now Max was only a couple of miles away from her. It was difficult enough to cope with being apart from him when he was in California, but knowing that he was so close, yet she wasn't able to see or touch him, was almost unbearable. She was so relieved when five o'clock finally rolled around and she could get out of there and head over to his hotel to get ready for the premiere.

It was in typical fashion that after sitting through the longest day ever today, praying for the evening to come, the next few hours just flew by. From picking out the perfect 'premiere' dress from Isabel's selection—a floaty, red garment that accentuated her curves perfectly without being too sexy—and walking the red carpet, to admiring Max's performance in the movie (for the second time) and heading back to his hotel room afterwards for a 'night cap', it all went so quickly.

All too soon, it was early Thursday morning and Max had to leave for L.A. At first, he tried to persuade her that it would be better for her if he headed to Heathrow alone, but she insisted on coming with him to the airport, if only to spend as much time with him as possible.

She noticed that Max seemed tense as they pulled up outside the terminal, picked up his bags from the boot and headed inside to the check-in desks, but Liz didn't care, she just wrapped arm around his forearm and entwined her fingers with his as they walked. She knew that there would be a few paps around and she also spied some teenagers pointing camera phones in their direction, but right now, they didn't matter to her. She stood with Max as he checked in at the first class desk and then walked with him towards the security area. Just before they got to security, Max guided her towards a quiet corner and came to a stop in front of her.

"I'm sorry you can't come any further with me," he murmured, regret in his voice. "I guess this is where we say goodbye."

"Yeah," replied Liz, although it came out more as a sad sigh. She looked up into his eyes, seeing the same reluctant expression there as she was sure was mirrored in her own.

He exhaled heavily, "Liz, I…"

"I don't want you to go," she burst out suddenly, trying desperately to not to let the full extent of her emotions show. She didn't want to burst into tears in public. "Stay. Please."

"I wish I could," he replied, with a sad shake of his head. "You don't know how much I wish that."

"I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Me too," he nodded.

"How long until you come back?"

"Well, I fly into Berlin in a couple of weeks and then I'll be in Paris from the second week of May," he told her. "But I don't know when–"

"Max…" she cut him off with an understanding nod, her emotions bubbling to the surface now as a tear crept down her cheek. "I–"

"Hey, it's okay, come here," he said soothingly, pulling her into a tight hug. "We'll get through this, all right? We will. I promise."

Liz closed her eyes as she let herself relax against him, savouring the feel of his warm chest pressed against her.

"It'll be okay," he murmured, pulling back slightly and lifting his hand to her cheek, wiping away the tears there.

In response, she opened her eyes again and turned her face towards him. He gave her a breathtaking smile before lowering his mouth to hers, caressing her lips with a meaningful kiss. Completely caught up in her emotions and forgetting where she was, Liz let herself sink into his embrace, kissing him with everything she had, as if she would never see him again.

"I have to go," he murmured gently when they finally pulled apart. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah," whispered Liz, struggling to get the words out. "See you soon."

Max took a step back, disentangling himself from her arms. He took a couple of backward steps towards the security area, his eyes locked with hers the whole time. She saw him suck in a deep breath and then exhale, before he mouthed the word 'bye' and then finally turned and made his way through the barrier. Liz struggled to keep her emotions in check as she watched him until he disappeared from view. She wouldn't break down now, she couldn't. She had to stay strong. No matter how much she just wanted to curl up in bed and wallow in her misery, she had to pick herself up and carry on with things, such as going to work… which she was going to be late for if she didn't leave the airport very soon.

Sending one last, longing glance in the direction Max had just walked in, she turned towards the door and made her way outside to where Max's driver was waiting to drive her back into London. Unfortunately though, the short walk was not uneventful, because the paparazzi that had previously just been snapping pictures from a distance suddenly descended on her. They shoved cameras in her face and started bombarding her with inane questions like, 'Was that Max Evans you just saw off?', 'When will you see him again?', 'It looked like an emotional goodbye you were having' and even, 'Is it true the two of you are engaged now?'. Liz kept her head down and muttered a quick 'No comment' in response to each question, just wishing to be left alone. When she finally made it to the car, she climbed inside and let her head fall back against the expensive seats.

Did these people not understand the meaning of the word 'privacy'?

* * *

The next few days were the most difficult so far and by the middle of the next week, Liz was getting very frustrated. Although it had been wonderful seeing Max again, if only for two days, his leaving had only reinforced what she'd known before: that she couldn't keep doing this for much longer. She couldn't keep saying goodbye. Then there were the issues with the paparazzi. First, it was only little things, like the cameras at the airport the week before or the odd person taking her picture in the street, but tonight they'd stepped it up a notch.

She was having dinner with Maria and Michael in her flat and when she went into the kitchen to retrieve dessert from the fridge, Maria let out a surprised exclamation.

"Oh my God, Liz!" she cried out suddenly. "Get in here."

"What? What is it?" wondered Liz as she came into the living room, a bowl of homemade strawberry trifle in hand.

"Look at this," said Maria, gesturing for her to join her at the window, where she was peering out through the curtains.

Frowning in confusion, Liz placed the trifle down on the coffee table in front of Michael who was sitting in the armchair beside the sofa, and moved to stand next to Maria.

"What's going on?"

"There are tons of them out here, Liz," Maria told her. "Paparazzi… look."

Her heart suddenly began beating loudly in her chest as her friend's words sank in and Liz stepped forward anxiously to take a peek outside. Sure enough, Maria was right. There were several cars parked in the street outside her house and she could make out a couple of people sitting in them, cameras lifted to their faces. Looking closer, she could also see one or two people crouching down next to some bushes.

"Damn it," she muttered. "How did they find out where I live?"

Maria gave her an odd look, "Um, Liz, did you not read _Heat_ magazine this week?"

"No," she shook her head. "Why?"

Her friend rolled her eyes in frustration, "There was a picture in there of Max leaving your flat a few days ago. It was early in the morning and he had a hat pulled down over his forehead, but they knew it was him."

"Shit," hissed Liz. "They must have followed him from the airport." She frowned. "Hang on, if they knew where I lived last week, then how come they haven't been here until now?"

Maria shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe they've been lurking around all along but you just didn't notice until now?"

"Maybe…" she murmured, looking out of the window one last time before sighing, moving away and flopping down on the couch. "God, this is so hard."

"What's wrong, sweetie?" asked Maria softly as she perched beside her on the sofa.

"Nothing," mumbled Liz. "Everything. I just can't do this without him."

"Oh, honey," said Maria sympathetically as she rubbed Liz's arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry."

"I don't know what to do, Maria," she admitted. "He lives in L.A. and I live here; we're so far apart, but I just want to be with him all the time."

"So, go be with him all the time," said Maria, as if it were obvious.

"It's not that simple," protested Liz. "My life is here; my job, my flat, my friends and family, not to mention the fact that even if I wanted to move there we'd have to get married and it can take months to get a visa for that. God, I can't just up and leave… and neither can Max." She turned to Maria, "Anna told me she'd seen him looking at houses in London and visas to come to the UK, but he can't move here, Maria. All the opportunities are there, in Los Angeles, it would harm his career if he came to live here."

"Max is thinking of moving here?" exclaimed Maria, her eyes wide. "Wow, he's really got it bad for you."

"'Ria," dismissed Liz, with an embarrassed smile. "He hasn't even mentioned it to me… I only know because of what Anna said. And besides, I'm not gonna let him do that for me."

"What about going back to school?" piped up Michael just then. "You could get a student visa and go to grad school in California. I mean, I did it when I came here – it's not that hard."

"Hmm," Liz's brow furrowed at his suggestion. "Well, I guess I did consider doing a masters before I got the job here in London… but isn't it really expensive to go to university in the States though? I don't know that I could afford it."

"Doesn't have to be," shrugged Michael. "I mean, if you can get a TA assistantship the school will pay you and fund your studies. It would mean being an undergrad teaching assistant and grading papers and things, but at least you won't have to pay to study there."

"Yeah… a student visa…" mused Liz as she considered the possibility. "If I could study at a university in Los Angeles, I could be close to Max…"

"Sounds like a great idea to me, Lizzie," nodded Maria with a grin.

"I guess I could look into it," she murmured with a small smile. "I mean, I don't even know if I could get in, but there's no harm in doing a bit of research, right?"

"Of course not," agreed Maria enthusiastically.

"Do you know anything about American student visas, Mike? Are they hard to get?"

"Not really," he shook his head, "at least, I don't think so. There's a guy from Australia in one of my classes here who studied in the States before coming to London – I remember him saying it was pretty straightforward to get his US visa."

"Okay, well that sounds good," said Liz, her smile widening now as the thought of becoming a student in L.A. really began to sank in. "Well, it's definitely something to think about."

"I think it's a great idea, Lizzie," beamed Maria and Liz nodded in response. "But right now, I'm dying to try some of that delicious trifle you've got there."

Liz sent Maria a grin as she stood up and went into the kitchen to grab some bowls and spoons. As she walked back into the living room again, she found herself seriously contemplating Michael's suggestion. Maybe he was right and there really was a way for her to be with Max in L.A… maybe things were starting to look up for her again.

_TBC…_


	26. Chapter 26

**Part Twenty-Six**

Three days before he was due to fly out to Europe, Max found himself hanging out with Andy, Tom and Joe on the beach in Santa Monica. Earlier on they'd played a casual game of beach volleyball and now they were lounging on the sand, playing with a pack of cards.

"So, man, you're flying out to Germany this weekend, right?" asked Joe, as he dealt the cards around for another game of Shithead.

"Yeah," nodded Max with a roll of his eyes, picking up his cards and organising them in his hand. "It's going to be a world of fun: three countries in four days, dozens of interviews and TV spots, no time to even think."

"Never thought I'd say it, but I'm actually glad I haven't made it big yet," chuckled Tom. "I've seen how crazy the whole fame thing gets when you're A-list and what it can do to you."

"Yeah, it's not ideal, but you learn to deal with it," said Max, glancing around at their surroundings, before grinning and nodding towards the pier. "I mean, I can see a couple of paps over there right now, but I'm pretending they don't exist."

"Yeah, I guess," murmured Tom, as he placed a card down, starting the game. "What about Liz though? How's she handling the attention?"

"She's doing okay with it, I think," replied Max, taking his turn. "I mean, apparently they found out where she lives when I was in London and she told me there were a few photographers hanging around outside her flat last week, but apart from that, it doesn't seem to be bothering her."

"Good for her," nodded Joe appreciatively. "Most normal girls would be freaked by that shit."

"Yeah, I was worried about it being too much for her, but she keeps insisting that she can handle it," he shrugged.

"You going to see her much while you're in Europe this summer?" wondered Tom, before making a face at the cards in his hand and reluctantly picking a new one up from the pile in the middle.

"Yeah, I hope so," said Max with a grin. "I'm planning on flying her out to Paris for a romantic weekend as soon as I can."

"Really?" murmured Joe with a mischievous grin as he took his turn. "You gonna get down and dirty, French-style?"

"Ugh, man, I don't even want to know what's going through your head right now," grimaced Max, as he gave his friend a shove on the shoulder. "No, actually, I'm gonna tell her I love her."

"No, shit!" exclaimed Tom, his jaw dropping in response. "You love her? For real?"

"Of course, for real," Max shot him a funny look. "What did you think, that she was just a piece on the side for me? A bit of fun?"

"Well, no," his friend replied sheepishly. "I just didn't realise you were that serious about her. You've never really been one to settle down, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," conceded Max with a nod. "I didn't think I'd be settling down anytime soon either, but Liz is different. She's everything I never knew I wanted."

"Aww, true love!" exclaimed Joe, holding his hand to his heart dramatically.

"Shut up, dude," retorted Tom with a snort. "At least he has someone… unlike you."

"Whatever, man," Joe dismissed with a snort. "I don't need a woman hanging around, nagging me all the time."

"You'll change your mind one day," Tom assured him. "Ain't that right, Andy?"

Max turned to look at his friend, who'd been silent during the entire conversation, only moving to play his turn in the card game. He was looking down at his hand, ignoring everything else around him.

"Hey, Andy, you all right, man?" asked Max. "You've been spacing out."

"Huh?" his friend muttered, finally glanced up to find that he was the centre of attention. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Max was concerned. "You seem distracted today."

"Yeah… well, it's all this love and relationship talk," he responded with a shrug. "Not really my thing."

"Right," muttered Max disbelievingly. "Which is why you haven't been on a casual date in weeks, yet every time I call you, you're either out or you're not picking up… I've been trying to figure out which one it is."

Max watched Andy become increasingly uncomfortable under the gazes of his friends and he wondered what on earth could be bothering him.

"Okay, fine. You got me…" sighed Andy, finally sitting up and placing his cards face-down on the sand. "…I've kinda been seeing someone."

"You have?" wondered Tom curiously. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Max frowned; had Andy finally gotten somewhere with Anna? She hadn't mentioned anything to him about it, but then he hadn't spent all that much time with her lately, what with Liz being here and him going to London and everything.

"It… I… well, I thought it might be awkward," Andy muttered, glancing at Max before looking down at his hands again.

"Why? What would be awkward?" Tom looked confused now.

"Um, the person I'm seeing is kinda…" he looked up at Max again, who fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"It's Anna, isn't it?" Max couldn't hold it in any longer. "You're seeing Anna."

"Anna Davies?" asked Tom with a frown. "Why would that be awkward?"

"Well, you know…" Andy hedged, shooting Max a look.

"He's worried that I might take offence at him being with Anna," he clarified, before turning to Andy again. "Hey, it's okay, man. Go for it; it doesn't bother me."

"Really? But you guys were… you know, _involved_."

Max chuckled, shaking his head, "No we weren't, not really. We had a casual thing for a while, but that's it. And it was over months ago anyway. Andy, man, you guys have my blessing."

"Thanks," Andy smiled gratefully, looking like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Max simply smiled at him, before turning his attention back to the card game again.

"Come on, guys, let's dispense with the relationship talk and get stuck into this game of Shithead."

* * *

Liz stomped around her bedroom, frantically searching for the new book she'd purchased a few days ago but was now nowhere to be seen. She was certain that yesterday morning it had been on the floor by her bed, but now there was nothing there.

"Goddamnit!" she ground out in frustration when she turned over the pile of clothes in the corner of her room for the third time to find nothing there either.

She let out a tired sigh and sank down onto the edge of her bed, trying to hold in her emotions, but failing miserable. A small sob escaped her lips and she lifted her hand to her mouth to muffle the sound, but it was too late now; her eyes were welling up with frustrated tears and her entire body felt heavy. Losing her new book was the last in a long line of things to go wrong for her this week and the stress of it all, as well as not having slept well at all lately, was really getting to her.

Why couldn't things just go right for once?

At first, everything had been going well for her. After her conversation with Maria and Michael about student visas a couple of weeks ago, she'd spent several days researching the idea on the internet and after looking through the Biology graduate programs on the UCLA, CalTech, USC, CSU and a couple of other institutions known by three-letter abbreviations and sending them some emails, she was feeling pretty excited about the idea.

However, her hopes had been pretty much crushed a couple of days later when she started hearing back from the universities only to find out that it was now too late to apply for the upcoming academic year. Apparently, if you want to qualify for funding, you have to apply several months before you want to start the program, like back in January. It was May now and definitely too late to apply for the Fall semester. It looked like she wasn't going to be able to be closer to Max anytime soon.

As if that news wasn't bad enough, everything else seemed to go wrong at the same time too. First off, work had been crazy lately after one of the writers for the magazine had quit suddenly and now the rest of the team was left picking up the extra work they left behind, then she got a phone call from the police giving her some further information about the Jacob Nicholson case. It turned out that the rape trial would still be going ahead in the next few months, but that she wouldn't be required to testify in court. Despite the good news, she'd still been on edge about it for the last few days.

On top of that, it also turned out that the paparazzi incident outside her flat the other week hadn't been a one-off. In fact, it was only just the beginning. At first she'd tried to ignore the fact that there were cameras following her around all the time, hanging around outside her office building and her flat at all hours of the day, but when the paps had started harassing her with intrusive questions a few days ago, she realised it was getting out of hand. And of course, it would happen when Max was in the middle of his crazy whirlwind press of Europe and was so busy she couldn't even get hold of him. He was supposed to arrive in Paris in two days an he'd promised her they'd have time to talk then, but right now those two days seemed like a lifetime away and she just wasn't sure how much more crap she could take right now.

She couldn't concentrate on work, just when she'd put the incident with Jacob out of her mind it came up again, she was being hounded by the press, and now it looked like her one hope of being able to move closer to Max was now only a dream. Maybe this whole 'maintaining a relationship with an international celebrity' thing was just not worth it.

* * *

Max couldn't help grinning with relief when he finally made it to his hotel room in Paris on Friday afternoon and sank down on the plush sofa in the small living area. He was exhausted from the last few days of travel, and doing interviews and TV shows. It was great to know that he would be basically staying in the same place for the next few weeks… not to mention, he was now less than 300 miles from Liz and he couldn't wait to see her again.

The last couple of days had been really stressful, mostly due to all the travelling between countries, but it also hadn't helped that there had been three language barriers to deal with and a ton of interviewers whose knowledge of English had been minimal at best. Most of the questions he'd answered in the last few days were in regards to the new movie and his career, but of course there were the inevitable 'personal life' queries… especially involving his relationship with Liz. He'd fielded them as best as he could, but the more probing the interviews, the more frustrated he found himself getting with the process and by the time he left Spain for France this morning, he was longing for Liz and for the peace and quiet they'd shared in LA just a few weeks earlier.

So many times this week he'd been almost desperate to call Liz, if only just to hear her voice, but his days had been so full that he barely had any time to himself and when he did finally finish for the day, all he could think of was getting some sleep. Now, however, the busy tour of Europe was over and he had a couple of days to relax and recuperate before filming started… and he was eager to call Liz.

However, a quick glance over at the clock on the wall informed him that it was five o'clock, which meant it was only four in London and Liz would still be at work for another hour or so.

Crap.

Now he had to find something to do with himself for the next couple of hours.

He spent a few minutes debating his options: whether to take a much-needed nap or go in search of some nourishment. Eventually, his grumbling stomach won out and he headed down to the hotel dining room for dinner. The dining hall was plush and exclusive and the food was excellent. Max found himself seated close to an elderly French couple who recognised him because their granddaughter was a big fan. They spoke almost flawless English, having lived in the United States together when they were young and were so sweet that Max couldn't help but smile and converse with them and even sign a couple of autographs for their granddaughter and her best friend.

Dinner was just winding down and Max was getting ready to go back upstairs to his room, when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he grinned when he realised that the call was from Liz. Excusing himself from the French couple's company, he headed out of the dining hall and towards the elevator.

"Hey," he smiled into the phone.

"Max?" an upset-sounding Liz sniffled on the other end.

Max immediately grew concerned as he climbed into the elevator and pressed the button for his floor.

"Liz? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"No, Max, I'm not," she burst out suddenly. "I-I can't do this anymore."

It was obvious that she'd been crying and Max's heart clenched painfully in response.

"Can't do what?"

"This. Us," she clarified. "It's too much."

"What?" he was shocked. "What's too much?"

What was she talking about? Last time they'd spoken, she was fine. What had happened in the last few days to make her so upset?

"Everything," she hiccupped. "Being apart, not being open about us, being constantly hounded by the press… I can't do it anymore."

"You're being hounded by the press?" he asked in surprise.

How did he not know this?

"They're everywhere, Max. They're outside my flat right now… I even had to take a different route home from work tonight because they were all over the place."

"Why didn't you say something before?"

"I couldn't get hold of you, could I?" she burst out suddenly. "You've been so busy with your perfect life that you haven't even had time for me."

"Liz, you know that's not true," he protested. "It's going to be okay."

He tried to sooth her, but inside, his heart was pounding in his chest as a feeling of dread overtook him.

"Whatever's wrong we'll get through it together, I promise."

"No… no, you don't understand," she was openly crying now. "I mean it; I can't do it anymore. I'm sorry; it's over, Max."

"No… Liz, wait–" Max tried to object, but he was met with the dial tone.

She'd hung up on him.

She'd broken up with him and just hung up without another word.

He tried to call her back, on both her mobile and her landline, but the former was now switched off and the latter was off the hook. Max groaned in frustration, fighting the urge to throw his phone against the wall. The elevator dinged to indicate he'd reached his floor, but that was the least of his worries right now. Stepping out of the lift and into the corridor towards his room, he began dialling a number on his phone.

"Bonjour, Pierre? This is Max Evans. Yes, hello. I need you to get me on the next plane to London. I don't care what it takes or how much it costs; I need to be in London tonight."

_TBC…_


	27. Chapter 27

**Part Twenty-Seven**

"Come on, come on," muttered Max impatiently, his fingers drumming anxiously on his thigh as he waited for the plane to land in London.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief when it finally did and he was out of his seat like a shot. The stewardesses kindly allowed him to exit the plane ahead of the other passengers and so his passage through immigration was quick. He hadn't checked any bags, so it took only minutes to reach the airport exit. Unfortunately though, it seemed that his sudden departure from Paris had alerted the press and there was currently a crowd of reporters and photographers waiting for him outside the terminal. Anxious to get to Liz and not in the mood to deal with them, he steeled himself, put his head down and purposefully walked out of the door towards the car that he'd arranged to pick him up.

"Max! Hey, Max? Are you here visiting Liz?" called out one reporter as he strode through the throng of people.

"Is it true that you two are closer than ever?" shouted another, shoving a microphone in his face. "Rumour has it, there's a going to be proposal on the horizon?"

Camera flashes were going off all around him, but Max did his best to ignore them as he tried to keep calm and not react to the probing questions. He managed quite well at first, but then an over-eager reporter took things too far and hit a nerve with his question.

"How's Liz dealing with your hectic lifestyle?" his nasally voice sounded out above the others. "It can't be easy for her."

"Look, get out of my face, okay?" he snarled in the general direction of the guy.

"Aww, come on, Evans," whined one of the photographers. "You gotta give us something."

"No, I fucking well don't," he retorted angrily, not giving much thought to the words spilling from his mouth or the impact they would have on his image. "Now, get out of my way."

He barged through them unceremoniously and made a beeline for the car that he could now see parked at the side of the road. All he could think about was getting to Liz before it was too late and try to make some sense of her phone call. What on Earth had happened to her in the last couple of weeks to make her change her mind about their relationship?

Max let out a heavy sigh when he finally sank into the backseat of the vehicle and closed his tired eyes. When he'd rushed to Charles de Gaulle airport just a couple of hours ago, he hadn't really given any thought as to what he was doing, other than that he needed to see Liz in person, but now that he was in London, he was debating the wisdom of his decision. What if she wouldn't talk to him? What if she never wanted to see him again? What if she wasn't even home?

The journey to Liz's flat seemed to take forever and he was desperate to get there quickly, but as the car pulled into her road, a feeling of dread suddenly washed over him and he swore aloud at the scene ahead of them.

There were paps everywhere.

Some were sitting in cars, camera lenses sticking out through the windows, others were crouching down by the bushes and walls and a few were even shamelessly standing in the middle of the street, aiming their cameras towards Liz's windows and calling out to her.

Shit. No wonder she was so hysterical on the phone earlier, having to deal with all this. He felt a pang of sympathy towards her and what she was having to cope with due to her relationship with him. Her phone call earlier had been a shock to him though, because he'd been worried about how she would handle the press since the beginning, but she'd always assured him that the attention didn't bother her. He supposed that he couldn't blame her for the call though; no matter how many times she'd told him she could handle it, he'd been expecting something like this to happen eventually.

Giving another curse, Max asked the driver to pull up outside Liz's building and, with a look of determination, he grabbed his carry-on bag and stepped out of the car. As he'd predicted, the paps were on him in a second, questioning him about Liz and why he was there, but he ignored them all and quickly got inside and away from them. With a frustrated roll of his eyes, he climbed the stairs to Liz's floor and headed for her door. When he got there, he hesitated for a moment, taking a calming breath first before lifting his hand to knock. He couldn't hear any sounds coming from inside, but he'd seen the lights on in the flat from down in the street, so he knew she was home. He knocked quickly on the door, three sharp raps, and didn't wait for an answer before he knocked again.

"Liz, it's Max," he called through the door. "Can you let me in? Please? I have to talk to you."

There were several long seconds of silence and he wasn't sure she was even going to answer, but just as he was about to turn around and leave, there was a sound from the other side and the door opened to reveal a upset, dishevelled-looking Liz. She was dressed in a pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt with some kind of cartoon on the front. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and her eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. She looked so vulnerable and hurt that he just wanted to pull her into his arms and make everything okay. However, judging by the look on her face, he didn't think that was such a good idea right now.

"Max?" she managed in a tired, raspy tone. "What are you doing here?"

Max rolled his eyes, "You didn't think you could just drop a bombshell like that on me —on the phone, no less—and not expect me to come here, did you?" He shook his head as he stepped inside the flat and she closed the door behind her. "I had to see you."

"I meant what I said, Max," she told him softly, hugging her arms around her torso as she made her way further into the living room. "I can't do this anymore, this whole relationship with you. I thought I could, but I just can't handle it."

"The paparazzi?" Max asked for clarification, following behind her. "Because I can try to get them to stop hassling you if that's the problem."

"Not just them," she admitted, suddenly looking very small and delicate as she turned to face him. "It's… everything."

"What everything?" he asked gently, stepping closer to her, his eyes drinking her in.

"It's so hard being apart from you, Max," she admitted, sliding down onto the sofa as her breathing hitched and fresh tears leaked from her eyes. "I can't live like this anymore, not knowing when I'll see you next or how much time we'll have together."

She began sobbing then and Max's heart clenched for her as he sank down beside her on the sofa. He felt so guilty; this was all his fault. God, she'd been having such a hard time lately and he hadn't even known.

"Liz…" he reached out to touch her arm and she looked up at him with watery eyes. "Do you really want to break up?"

Her breath hitched again as she slowly shook her head, "No… but I don't see any other option at this point."

"Don't say that," Max shook his head.

"But it's true," muttered Liz, looking away from him and down at her hands which were now in her lap. "I can't do the long-distance thing anymore, but we'll never be together in the same place either. What else can we do?"

"We'll think of something," said Max determinedly.

"What, exactly, Max? You live in LA and I live here; you're always travelling around the world, but I'm stuck here with my job. How on Earth could this possibly work?"

Max hesitated for a moment, before he started to speak, "I've, um, I've been looking into something recently. I'm not sure how feasible it is, but I was thinking of trying to relocate to London…"

"No!" Liz's head shot up at that, panic evident in her eyes, which caused Max to recoil slightly in surprise. "No, Max, you can't do that."

"What?" he was taken aback by her vehement response; wasn't she supposed to be happy about this news? "Why not?"

"Because I can't be responsible for hindering your career," she admitted softly. "Max, you need to be in L.A., okay? That's where the work is, where the industry contacts are. I can't ask you to leave all that behind."

"I wouldn't be leaving it behind, Liz," he assured her, unable to prevent himself from reaching out and tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing against her soft skin as he did so. "There are plenty of work opportunities and contacts here too."

"But not as many as in California," she stated. It wasn't a question. "No, Max, I won't let you do it."

"Well what do you propose we do then?" he snapped in frustration, regretting the outburst immediately.

"Well, I'd been thinking about going back to university—in California," she mumbled softly, not looking at him, but staring at something on the floor instead. "It's not hard to get a student visa, you know."

"Really?" Max's eyes lit up at her words and a wide smile spread across his face at the thought of Liz moving to Los Angeles. "You want to come to California? To study? In L.A.?"

"Yeah," she said, although tears began gathering in her eyes again. "I wanted to."

"Wanted?" he questioned her use of the past tense.

She nodded, "Yeah. But it's too late now. There's no funding left for this year and there's no way I can be a postgraduate student without funding. Now I'm going to have to wait until next year to apply, which means spending more than a year away from you."

"Oh, Liz, I'm sorry," he reached out a hand to comfort her, but she shrugged him off and stood up, walking away from him.

"Don't, Max," she muttered. "This is hard enough as it is."

"What is?" he was confused.

"It's just not going to work, okay?" she burst out, turning back to him, tears streaming down her face. "I can't keep doing this, not for a whole year more. As much as I don't want to, I think it's best if we just go our separate ways."

The defeat in her eyes, had Max angry and he jumped up off the couch.

"So, that's it? You're giving up?" he cried incredulously, stalking across the room and coming to a stop in front of her. "Don't I even get a say in this? What about how I feel?"

She raised her chin defiantly, challenging him, "And how _do_ you feel, Max?"

He gazed down at her, taking in her red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks, and his heart went out to her. She'd never looked more beautiful to him and he just wanted to take her into his arms and tell her it would all be okay. He reached out his hand to touch her arm, letting his fingers gently stroke her skin. She shuddered in response and exhaled heavily as his other hand came up to cup her cheek. He leaned forward and murmured his reply softly.

"I love you, Liz."

She sucked in a gasp, her eyes widening slightly at his soft confession.

"I love you," he repeated. "So much. I waited my whole life to find someone like you and now that I have, I can't imagine not being with you. I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to give you up that easily."

"Max…" she breathed, shaking her head slightly, as if she couldn't believe what he was saying. "God…"

"We'll work it out, Liz, I swear," he insisted, reaching up to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks. "We have to. Because I can't be without you."

She was silent for a moment, before she met his gaze and admitted, "I love you, too, Max."

A new smile spread across his face, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I do," she nodded, before her expression fell. "I'm sorry… about tonight, about everything."

"It's okay, Liz," he said soothingly. "Don't worry about it."

"I've just been so overwhelmed by it all lately," she confessed. "It's like everything's going wrong and I don't know how to fix it."

"We'll fix it together, Liz," said Max determinedly. "We will make it work."

"How?" she wondered.

"Well," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her and looking down at her tenderly. "I was thinking I could start by putting in some calls to those California colleges you were looking at and see if I can't pull some strings in their finance department."

"Max," Liz rolled her eyes. "You can't do that. It's wrong."

"I can, and I will," he grinned. "After all, what's the point of having a movie-star boyfriend if he can't call in a few favours for you?"

"Max…" Liz didn't look convinced and he realised he would have to step it up a little.

"Well, okay, then," he gave a mischievous smile. "If you won't let me call them, then you're just going to have to let _me_ pay for your grad studies instead."

"What?" Liz cried out in shock. "No, Max! No way. I am not letting you pay for my studies. And that's final."

Max had to hold back a grin at her firm tone and no-nonsense expression. He'd known she wouldn't go for that suggestion at all.

"Well, in that case, I think you're gonna have to let me make some calls," he replied with a grin. "It's either that, or you'll have to wait until next year to get your funding."

She gave him an annoyed look before sighing in defeat, "Fine, Max. You win."

He just grinned in response, "You giving in was kind of inevitable. You can't resist me and you know it."

Liz rolled her eyes, "Well, you certainly think a lot of yourself, don't you?"

He chuckled, tightening his arms around her slightly and enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against him. His gaze locked with hers and suddenly the atmosphere between them sobered.

"I love you," he murmured softly.

"Love you, too," she replied in an equally soft tone, as she gave him a tender smile.

Just like that, Max couldn't resist anymore. He lowered his head and captured her lips with his. They kissed slowly, expressing their feelings and savouring the moment.

"Thank you, Max," Liz murmured when they broke apart a couple of minutes later.

"For what?"

Her fingers tangled in his hair, gently massaging his scalp and the action sent tingles down his spine. It felt so good to be this close to her again, especially after the events of the last couple of hours. He was extremely glad that they'd managed to talk it out.

"For being here, for calming me down, for understanding," she clarified with a smile.

"You don't need to thank me," he insisted, before indicating towards the sofa. "Come on, let's sit down."

Liz nodded and allowed him to lead her to the couch. She snuggled up next to him, her head on his shoulder and her arm resting on his waist as he hugged her to him. They sat together in comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company, until an idea occurred to Max and he spoke up.

"Hey, you know, it's only early afternoon in L.A. right now. Why don't we get started on making some calls? Do you have the contact details of the colleges you were interested in?"

"Now? Max, I'm not sure if…"

"We don't have to, but it'll be the weekend soon and I have to start filming on Monday. We've got some time now, so why not?"

Liz looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding, "Okay. I'll go get my laptop."

She leaned over to give him a quick kiss, before heading into her bedroom to retrieve the computer.

* * *

"I'm so glad you came," mumbled Liz into Max's bare chest in the early hours of the morning as she snuggled up next to him in bed, savouring the feel of his body against hers, his arms around her. "Thank you for everything."

"Really, Liz," Max chuckled softly. "Stop thanking me. It's not necessary."

"Max," she smiled against his skin, before kissing his chest tenderly. "You deserve it. Seven hours ago my life was a mess; _I _was a mess, but you came in here, you calmed me down, told me you loved me and then you managed to secure two years of graduate funding for me at the university of my choice! I want to thank you, so shut up, deal with it and let me do it properly."

She emphasised her point by shifting beneath the bedcovers and moving to straddle his hips, leaning down and running her lips across his bare skin.

Max laughed outright this time, his hands coming up to wrap around her waist and tugging her closer to him, "Well, when you put it that way…"

Liz laughed along with him as she found herself pulled flush against him and he began placing loving kisses over her face and neck. It had been a really tough couple of weeks for her, but right here with Max, she really felt hopeful now that they would be able to work everything out.

"Come to Paris with me," requested Max in between kisses. "In the morning; come back with me."

Liz looked up and their eyes locked.

She gave him a soft smile, "Of course I will."

"Great," he grinned widely, before lifting his head to kiss her gently. "I can't wait."

"Me either," she returned happily, staring down at Max and drinking in his perfect features in the dim light of the room.

"So, uh," he started, as his hands caressed her back lovingly. "You're really gonna do this grad school thing then?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I am. I already started filling out a couple of application forms before the whole money issue happened, so I just have to finish them, get the documents together, and take some GRE test or something. Oh and apply for the visa and get everything organised and… shit, I've got so much to do!"

"You'll get it all sorted out," he assured her. "And of course I'll help as much as I can."

Liz scrunched her nose up and gave him a funny look, "Yeah, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to read through graduate applications in between filming takes."

Max rolled his eyes and just replied lightly, "You know what I mean."

"I do," she nodded. "And thank you."

"Hey," he retorted playfully. "I thought we agreed, no more thanking me?"

"No, actually, I thought we agreed that you would sit back and let me thank you properly," she shot back, before pressing her body against him suggestively.

"Yeah," he grinned. "But then you started talking about grad school applications and the thanking part got shot to hell."

"Hang on a minute," Liz narrowed her eyes. "I seem to remember that you were the one who started the 'grad school' conversation. That was nothing to do with me."

"Okay, okay. You got me. I'm sorry," he gave her a pout that made her weak in the knees. "I'll just shut up now."

"Good idea," murmured Liz, bending her head and kissing him soundly, before pulling back and gazing down at him seriously. "I'm so happy you came here tonight, Max. You seem to have the ability to always make things all right again. I love you."

"I love you, too."

_TBC…_


	28. Chapter 28

**Part Twenty-Eight**

_**Evans in Lover's Tiff**_

_Max Evans caused a stir last night when he suddenly fled from his Paris hotel and jumped on a plane to London to see his girlfriend, Liz. Sources say he seemed agitated when he arrived in London and was rude to paparazzi and reporters outside Heathrow, barging past them and climbing straight into a black car, before storming inside her building looking frustrated. Is there trouble in paradise so soon? We think perhaps not, for everything seemed fine again early this morning when he and Liz were pictured leaving her flat for the airport with a couple of bags and big grins on their faces as they flew back to Paris together. We're thinking perhaps this was just a lover's tiff caught on camera and not something really serious.._

"You okay?" asked Max, as Liz frowned at the article she was reading on the Daily Mail website.

She looked up from her laptop, which was resting on her knees, to see him watching her with concern from his position beside her on the couch in his hotel room. She gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just trying not to let this all get to me again." She turned the computer screen so he could see the article. "It's like the whole world knows what we're doing right this second."

"I'm sorry." Max gave her a sympathetic smile, slipping his arm around her shoulder as they relaxed back against the cushions. "I wish I could shield you from all of the attention, but unfortunately it's part of the celebrity package."

"I know," she sighed, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "I understand that… it's just hard."

"Yeah, it is…" Max frowned, hesitating slightly for a moment.

"What is it, Max?" Liz asked curiously, sitting up and quickly turning off the laptop, placing it on the seat beside her, before turning to face him fully.

"Nothing," he shook his head. "It's just…. you've always said that you didn't care about the press attention and it hasn't really bothered you before, so I was wondering why this was affecting you so much now?"

Liz sighed, not really wanted to think about the state she'd been in last night before he'd shown up at her door.

"It wasn't just the press, Max, it just felt like everything was falling apart around me. Missing you, work problems, having trouble with the college applications, getting a phone call from the police about Jacob Nicholson… the paps and reporters were just the last straw for me after a horrible couple of weeks."

"Jacob Nicholson?" Max repeated, focusing only on that part of her reply for a moment. "What's happened?"

"Oh, not much; they just called to tell me that the court case was still going ahead, but that I didn't need to testify," she informed him. "It just brought back bad memories."

"Why didn't you call me?" he wondered softly, reaching out to gently stroke her cheek with his fingers.

Liz shook her head and shrugged, "It was last week when you were busy on your Europe tour. I didn't want to bother you."

Max smiled, one of those wonderful, tender smiles that always made her heart beat just that little bit faster, "You can bother me any time, Liz. I won't mind. Next time, just call me."

"Okay," she nodded, suddenly feeling silly for getting so worked up about it all last night. "I will."

"And you know, things aren't always going to be this hard," he added gently. "We've already got grad school funding sorted out for you and as long as the application and visa process goes smoothly, it won't be long before you'll be leaving your job and coming to L.A., plus, you don't have to worry about the Nicholson trial anymore, so that's almost all the problems you've been having sorted out right there."

"Yeah," she agreed softly. "I guess."

"And remember that the paps and the tabloids weren't as bad in L.A. as they have been here," he continued, grinning with amusement as he saw Liz beginning to smile at his ramblings. "_And_ you won't have to go it alone anymore by then… I'll be right there with you too."

"Yeah, I know," she smiled widely now, before leaning in and placing a soft kiss to his cheek. "I can't wait."

They shared an understanding look before Max shifted and sat up straighter.

"So, we're in Paris now and we have almost the whole weekend together," he started with a happy grin. "What shall we do?"

"Well, I know what I _want_ to do," replied Liz, "I want to go sightseeing with you, but I'm not sure it's such a good idea. You know, being out in public and everything."

"You know what? We can't let the paps dictate our lives," stated Max decisively. "If we want to spend some time together out and about in Paris, then that's what we do."

"Yeah," Liz nodded, although she felt a little apprehensive at the thought of facing the outside world right now.

"You don't sound convinced," Max gave her a small smirk, before cupping her cheek in his palm. "Hey, it'll be okay. We'll go out there together and I'll protect you from the big, bad photographers. "

That earned him a small laugh from Liz and she found herself relaxing into his touch, "Aww, my hero."

Max chuckled, leaning in to kiss her, softly at first, but then more deeply until they pulled away, gasping for breath. Liz grinned; God, it was so easy to get carried away when Max Evans was kissing you!

"Okay, then, shall we go?" he asked, running his hands up and down her arms a couple of times, before standing up and holding out his hand to her.

She took it and stood up as well, quickly reaching for her purse before following Max out of the hotel room and down to the lobby.

* * *

"I love Paris," sighed Liz as she and Max walked along the streets of Montmartre together later that morning. "Can you believe I haven't been here since a school trip when I was about thirteen?"

"Really?" Max tightened his grip on her waist as he manoeuvred her out of the way of a group of excited Japanese tourists heading towards them. "But you're so close in England, I would have thought you'd come over here often."

"Yeah, well," Liz shrugged as she glanced around the square they were walking through. "Sometimes life just gets in the way and you don't really get to travel around much. Before I moved to London, I'd only ever spent a few days there on shopping or sightseeing trips."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's no biggie," she dismissed with a wave of her hand, before pointing at the huge white-domed church up on the hill. "Come on, lets go up to the _Sacré Coeur_"

They visited the famous Basilica, climbing all 230-odd steps to get up there, before taking in some more of the area, watching the artists painting portraits and street entertainers juggling and performing tricks, and then heading over to another area of the city for some food. They shared a delicious lunch in a quaint, out-of-the-way _crêperie, before taking in the Champs_-_Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe and finally ending up at the Eiffel Tower._

At the top, Liz couldn't help but sigh with delight at the amazing sight before her; the sun was shining and the sky was blue… it was perfect weather for visiting the tower.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" murmured Max in her ear as he slipped his arms around her from behind.

"Yeah," she smiled happily, leaning back against him. "You know, I'm suddenly reminded of a certain trip up the Empire State Building a while ago."

"Yeah," agreed Max. "Same height, different city."

"Uh huh," she closed her eyes briefly as he nuzzled her neck. "Well, almost same height. The Empire State Building is higher."

Max laughed against her skin, "Know it all."

They spent a few minutes wandering around the observation deck, taking in the city view from all sides, before Max stopped walking and turned Liz to face him. Liz frowned slightly in confusion; he looked nervous.

"So, um, there's something I should tell you…"

"There is?" Liz wasn't sure what was going on here.

"Yeah, um," he flashed her a quick grin, "before you called me last night, I kinda had something planned for us in a couple of weeks' time."

"Yeah?" Liz started smiling again now as she realised that this wasn't anything bad.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I was going to whisk you away for a romantic weekend here in Paris—"

"Really?" she interrupted, grinned excitedly. "Wow!"

"Uh huh. I was going to bring you up here and book a table in _Jules Verne_, the restaurant down on the second floor," he nodded down to the level below as he took her hand. "And I was going to tell you I loved you."

"You were?" whispered Liz, her eyes widening as her heart sped up in response. "Really?"

"Yeah," he gave her a lopsided smile. "I was. I had it all planned out, but then you went and ruined it all by _forcing_ me to get on a plane to London last night," he flashed her a teasing grin, "and when I saw you, looking so lost and scared, I just couldn't hold it in anymore and I had to tell you."

"Max," murmured Liz in awe. "I can't believe… wow. You were gonna do all that for me?"

"Yeah," he nodded again. "I guess the whole 'telling you I love you for the first time in Paris' idea is out now though."

"Max," Liz started with a soft smile, as she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up into his eyes. "Maybe it would have been nice to have done it that way, but I wouldn't take back last night for the world. It meant so much to me that you came. You made everything better and what we shared was so special. I don't need big romantic gestures, I just need you."

"I know," he replied sheepishly. "But I wanted to do it for you anyway."

"Max…" murmured Liz. "Thank you. I'm sure it would have been amazing."

"Well, maybe we can dine at the restaurant down there another time."

"Yeah, maybe," she grinned. "That would be good."

Max leaned down to kiss her soundly, before looking down into her eyes.

"I love you, Liz."

"Love you, too, Max."

* * *

The next morning, Liz got started on her college applications on her laptop while she relaxed in bed with Max and they discussed how she would apply for a visa if she got accepted and when she would come to L.A.. She wasn't sure yet which program she wanted to attend, so there were several possible arrival dates. Orientation at USC was in mid-August, but UCLA and Caltech orientation was mid-September. Going for UCLA or Caltech would give her more time to get the paperwork sorted out, but it would mean even more time away from Max.

Liz sighed, feeling confused as she glanced over the various college websites on the laptop screen. Which one should she go for?

"You okay?" asked Max from beside her, as he flicked through TV stations trying to find something broadcasting in English.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just… this application stuff is draining."

"You can always take a break, you know," he smiled gently. "Maybe keep me company over here for a while?"

Liz looked over to see him smirking suggestively at her and she rolled her eyes with a reluctant smile.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, shifting the laptop on her lap slightly. "It's just that I want to get as much of this stuff done before I leave. It's easier to tackle it while you're here because you can help."

"Fair enough," he nodded, reaching over to lightly run his fingers down her arm, making her shiver in response. "But, you know, you don't _have_ to go back to London tonight. You could always stay here in Paris with me."

Liz gave him a longing gaze as she seriously contemplated his suggestion… it really did sound inviting.

"As much as I'd love to, I still have a job to get back to tomorrow," she sighed. "I can't just leave without giving notice. Plus, you know, you're going to be busy with filming and everything anyway."

"Yeah, I guess," murmured Max, although Liz could detect a slight note of disappointment in his tone.

"Hey," she smiled as she set the laptop down on the floor and turned to face him, running her hand through his hair. "Come here. I'm sorry, I'm putting the college stuff away now and I'm all yours for the rest of the day."

They spent the next few hours spending time together and taking in a bit more of Paris, going out for dinner in a small restaurant near Max's hotel before Liz had to return to London later that night. She arrived back home with her heart feeling much lighter than it had in a few weeks. Her life was finally back on track again and things seemed to be moving forward for her and Max now. She actually had something concrete to look forward to and work towards now instead of sitting around waiting and wondering when she would get to see Max again.

By the end of the week, Liz had completed all the application forms for the colleges she had decided to apply for and had booked an appointment to take the GRE test that was required to get into the schools. Now she had just three weeks to study for it and get a good score! As soon as she'd taken it and gathered all the documents together, she could send the applications off and hope she got accepted.

She couldn't help but grin with excitement and anticipation as she and Maria relaxed on her sofa on Friday night with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolate, as they watched a movie and gossiped about Max and Michael.

* * *

Max's next week in Paris was almost as fruitful as Liz's had been. On Monday morning, he'd met the director, cast and crew for the new film and they'd begun work on the movie. As he got stuck into the scenes, he was extremely glad he'd gone to see Liz on Friday, because it really felt like they'd taken a major step in their relationship and now he could concentrate on his job without spending all his time worrying about how they were going to make things work.

He was so happy that they'd managed to find a way to be together for longer than a few days. Liz's decision to go to school in California was a perfect one and a much better solution than his previous thoughts of trying to get a visa to live in England with her… especially when that would most likely have involved the possibility of marriage and while that was something he'd love to do at some point, it wouldn't be practical right now; possibly not even for a while longer.

On Thursday, filming had to be interrupted briefly for Max to attend a few press interviews, but luckily his schedule hadn't caused too much of an issue as the director had simply chosen to film other scenes that day instead. However, it did mean that he would now be stuck filming on Saturday and probably some of Sunday as well to make up the time… therefore putting a halt to his original tentative plans of inviting Liz to visit again over the weekend. It didn't matter too much now though, since they'd spent last weekend together and he'd told her how he felt then, so his planned romantic weekend wasn't so urgent anymore. Of course, he was still going to take her to the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, but maybe they could just do it next weekend instead.

"Hey, Max," called out one of his co-stars, a British actress named Celia who was playing his love interest, at the end of filming on Friday night. "A few of us as hitting the town tonight. You in?"

"Sure," he smiled with a nod. "Just give me a couple of minutes."

He headed into his trailer and pulled out his phone, sending Liz a quick text message, before changing his clothes and joining his co-stars for a few drinks. He grinned to himself as they hit the Paris party scene; finally, after months of trying to figure out a more permanent way to keep Liz in his life without having to wonder when they would see each other next, the world was making sense again.

_TBC…_


	29. Chapter 29

**Part Twenty-Nine**

It had been seven weeks since Max had flown to London to see Liz and they'd spent that amazing weekend together in Paris, but despite not being able to spend much time with Max in the last few weeks, Liz was feeling pretty good. She'd taken the GRE test, her college applications had been sent in and already she'd had acceptances from two of them: Caltech and UCLA. Although the Biology program at Caltech was great, she had pretty much decided on UCLA because, of the two colleges, UCLA was much closer to where Max lived.

Of course, that was assuming that she would actually be living with Max when she got there. They hadn't discussed it explicitly, but it had definitely been implied in their conversations. She'd been so intent on filling out her applications and getting all her college paperwork sorted out, then she hadn't yet given much thought as to what would actually happen once she arrived in L.A. What she did know though was that she'd missed Max like crazy the last few weeks, only being able to spend two weekends with him in Paris recently, and the idea of being with him on a more long-term basis was so exciting that the details just didn't seem to matter.

It was early July now and summer had well and truly arrived… well, if what passed as good weather in England could really be called summer, that was. Nevertheless, the days were longer and the air warmer… and occasionally the sun would peek out from behind the heavy clouds to give a lovely, sunny day. It wasn't California weather by any means, but it was Liz's favourite time of the year. She loved London in the summer, which was why, right now, she was spending a hot, sunny Thursday evening sitting outside in a pub beer garden with Maria and Michael, drinking and just enjoying the summer atmosphere.

"So, Liz, everything's getting underway now for the big L.A. move, huh?" asked Michael, as he set the latest round of drinks down on the wooden table they were currently occupying and then slid onto the bench beside Maria.

"Yep," she nodded with a grin. "I've had offers from UCLA and Caltech so far. I applied to USC too, but I think I'm going to go with UCLA."

"It that because it has a good academic program?" Michael wondered, taking a sip of his beer, before reaching for a nacho from the bowl in front of him.

"Well, yeah," nodded Liz, "although it's mostly because of its location."

"And by that I'm guessing you mean that it's close to Max's place?" grinned Maria knowingly.

"Yeah," nodded Liz again, this time with a sheepish grin. "Kinda."

"Ooh, this is all so exciting!" exclaimed Maria suddenly. "You're moving to L.A., Liz!"

"I know," she couldn't keep the wide smile off her face. "Only a few more weeks to go now… except I do still have to accept the offer from UCLA, then get the visa paperwork from them and apply for a visa."

"Ahh, the fun part," quipped Michael then. "Dealing with US immigration."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Liz rolled her eyes. "I've been reading up on applying for a student visa and there's a lot of confusing stuff to get through."

"It's not too bad, from what I've heard," said Michael. "As long as you fill out the application correctly and have all the required documents, I don't think it'll be too much of a problem."

"I hope so."

"So, Lizzie, do you know when you'll leave yet?" Maria asked, taking a sip of wine.

"Well, the school year doesn't start until 20th September and if I read it correctly, I can enter the country up to 30 days before that, so I guess I'll fly out there around late August," replied Liz thoughtfully. "Although I'll have to check with Max about his schedule around then too."

"He finishes filming sometime in August, right?" asked Maria. "Maybe he can help you move over."

"Yeah, I think the film's supposed to wrap up around the first week of August," confirmed Liz. "And that's what I'm hoping he'll do, but I still need to talk to him about it."

"With how close the two of you are these days, I'm surprised you haven't gone through it all in detail already," murmured Michael with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well," Liz looked a bit sheepish. "He hasn't had much time to talk lately. Plus we've barely seen each other the last few weeks, and when we have seen each other…"

"Let me guess," finished Maria with a smirk. "You've had other things on your minds?"

"Well… yeah, kinda," responded Liz with a wicked grin. "Let's just say that there hasn't been all that much time to talk when I've been in Paris with him."

"I can imagine," chuckled her friend with a cheeky grin. "It must be amazing… romantic weekends in Paris with the guy you love… if only I could find someone who would do that for me."

"Hey!" exclaimed Michael indignantly, looking rather put out at Maria's words. "I take you places!"

Maria rolled her eyes playfully at him, "Michael, a weekend at Butlins in Bognor Regis doesn't exactly scream romance and glamour… not like Paris does anyway."

"Fine," he put his beer glass down firmly on the table as he looked into Maria's eyes with an intense gaze. "You want Paris? I'll take you to Paris."

"Really?" his girlfriend's eyes lit up with excitement. "You would take me to Paris?"

"Well," Michael's expression faltered for a second. "I don't have all that much money to spare, but I'll see what I can do."

"Mike…" grinned Maria, reaching across the wooden table to take his hand in hers. "That would be amazing. Really. Thank you."

Liz smiled softly as the couple shared a tender moment. Michael and Maria were so great together. Sure, they argued quite a lot and often got on each other's nerves, but it was obvious that they really loved each other. She felt a slight twinge of sadness that she was here all alone tonight – the third wheel, so to speak – but that feeling was quickly replaced with excitement over the fact that in just a few weeks, she would be moving to California to be with Max.

* * *

Back at home later that night, Liz was relaxing on the sofa, trying to watch reruns of _Friends_, but actually getting distracted by thoughts of Max instead, when the phone rang.

"Hey, Liz, it's me," came the warm tone of his voice on the other end of the line, causing a tingle to run down her spine. "It's not too late to call, is it?"

"Hey," Liz replied happily. "Of course it's not, although shouldn't I be saying that to you? It is an hour ahead in Paris, after all."

"No such thing as 'too late' for me these days," he replied with a soft sigh. "Filming's been brutal this week – this is the earliest we've finished in days."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she murmured sympathetically. "You must be exhausted."

"Yeah, pretty much," he confirmed. "Or at least, I have been. I'm not as tired tonight as the rest of the week, mostly because one of my co-stars got sick this morning and so we had to postpone some of today's scenes."

"That's…good, I guess," said Liz. "I mean, that you're not as tired. There are a couple of things I need to talk to you about."

"There are?" his tone changed slightly in response. "Should I be worried?"

"Oh, no. No, definitely not," she assured him quickly. "It's just that there are some things we haven't discussed yet… you know, about me coming to California."

"Oh, okay," he murmured in understanding. "Well, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, first of all, I got two acceptance letters this week," she told him excitedly. "From Caltech and UCLA."

"Really? That's great, Liz!" his response was enthusiastic and she could just imagine him grinning widely on the other end of the line. "Have you decided where you wanna go?"

She nodded, although he couldn't see her, "Yeah, I think it's going to be UCLA."

"Really?" he sounded surprised. "Isn't Caltech ranked in the Top Ten schools in the country though?"

"Well… yeah, I guess," murmured Liz, trying to remember if she'd even looked up the college rankings when she'd applied. "But UCLA is so much closer to your place than Caltech."

"Liz," Max let out a small chuckle, "Please don't base your decision entirely on the school's proximity to my house, okay? Choose whichever school you think is best for you academically."

"It's not like UCLA has a bad reputation though," countered Liz. "I mean, it's still up there with the good colleges, right?"

"Well, yeah," agreed Max, "But Caltech is one of the best schools in the country for science. I just don't want you to make the wrong decision here."

"I know," she conceded, "but I was looking up driving directions between your house and the universities and UCLA is practically around the corner, but Caltech is almost thirty miles away. I'd have to spend hours commuting every day if I went to Caltech."

"Well, maybe you should live closer to the campus instead?" he suggested and Liz frowned in response.

"Closer to campus? But… I thought…" she fumbled for a response, feeling slightly hurt by his suggestion. "Well, I kinda thought we would be living together… you know, at your place? Or do you not want to?"

"No, Liz, of course I want to," he reassured her quickly and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I just don't want you to feel that you have to base your college decisions around me and my life."

Liz couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "Max, by doing my masters there, I'm already basing my entire life around you and your life."

"I know," he agreed reluctantly. "It's just… you're already giving up so much by moving – your job, your life in London, living near your family – I don't want you to sacrifice anything else because of me."

"Aww, you're sweet," she sighed, touched by his thoughtfulness. "But, Max, the whole reason I'm coming to L.A. is to be closer to you, to spend more time with you. It's not going to be easy to do that if I'm going to college thirty miles from where you live."

"Yeah, I guess not," he chuckled. "I know what I said just now about not choosing your college because of me, but if I'm being honest, I really want you close too."

"Yeah," agreed Liz. "So, I guess it's gonna be UCLA then, huh?"

"As long as you're happy with that."

"I think I can live with it," teased Liz, grinning down the phone.

"Great."

There were a few moments of comfortable silence between them then as the decision sank in, before Liz remembered what else she'd wanted to talk to him about and she spoke again.

"So, I was thinking that we need to sort out when and how I'm going to leave. The school year starts in late September, which means that as long as I get the visa in time, I can enter the US in late August. What's your schedule like in August?"

"Well, unless we're delayed, filming wraps up on August 8th and I've arranged it so I don't have any major commitments for a few weeks after that, so if you like, I can come over to London from Paris and we can get you organised."

"That sounds great," replied Liz with a smile as she absentmindedly picked up the TV remote and flicked through the channels. "I'd like that."

"Me too," replied Max, and she could hear the grin in his voice.

"I'm starting to get excited now," she blurted out a moment later, as a feeling of happiness suddenly welled up in her chest. "I can't wait."

"I know," Max responded. "It's going to be great having you nearby all the time."

"I miss you," pouted Liz then, suddenly wishing he was right there with her instead of just on the other end of the phone line.

"Miss you too."

"Is it August yet?"

"Not the last time I checked," chuckled Max. "Don't worry, I'm sure the time will fly by."

"It'd better," she replied with mock-severity, before her tone softened a little. "I'm not sure how much longer I can go without seeing you."

"Well, you know, we can still have fun without actually being together in person," he murmured suggestively, causing Liz's face to heat up in response. "We can do…things."

"Yeah?" she murmured softly. "Like what things?"

"I think you can guess."

"Hmm, I'm not sure," she teased. "Maybe you should tell me."

"Maybe I will," he chuckled. "But first, I think you should tell me what you're wearing…"

Oh, yeah, this _was_ going to be fun.

_TBC…_


	30. Chapter 30

**Part Thirty**

"Okay, I think this is all of it," announced Max as he placed the last bag down on the floor of his large lobby. "At least everything that we brought on the plane." He turned to glance over at Liz, who was stumbling through the front door with a large suitcase, "Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine," she grunted, as the case slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor. "Great, in fact."

Max gave a soft chuckle at her frustrated expression, "You know, you didn't have to carry that one. I did offer to get it for you, remember?"

"I know," shrugged Liz as she closed the door and looked around the foyer at the pile of bags and suitcases they'd brought with them on the plane from London. "But I guess I'm just used to doing things for myself."

"Well," grinned Max as he stepped over to her and slid his arms around her waist. "You don't have to do everything for yourself anymore, you know. I'm right here to help out with any heavy lifting you might need to do."

"Aww, that's so sweet," replied Liz teasingly. "My own personal lifter and carrier."

Max chuckled softly as he leaned down to kiss her lips, before lifting his head to look down into her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too," she nodded. "It's taken so long to get everything sorted out that I almost didn't think I'd make it here."

"It's been a long few months," he agreed. "But we made it."

"Yep."

"So, what do you want to do first?" he asked then, releasing his hold on her and slipping his hand in hers as he began to lead her towards the den.

"Well…" she murmured contemplatively, a twinkle in her eye. "I'm torn between sleeping, unpacking… and maybe having a little evening fun with you in the pool."

"The pool, huh? Sounds inviting," murmured Max, his pulse rate increasing suddenly at the memory of 'having fun' with Liz in the pool last time she was in L.A. "Come on, let's go."

"But the suitcases…" protested Liz as Max began leading her through the house. "We can't just leave them here."

"Yes, we can," he insisted, continuing to walk towards the kitchen.

"But shouldn't I get my bikini out or something?"

"Trust me, you won't needing a bikini this evening," murmured Max seductively as he tightened his grip on her hand.

"Max!" exclaimed Liz, widening her eyes as a half-playful, half-scandalised expression appeared on her face. "You're not suggesting we go _skinny-dipping_ are you?"

"Why not?" he grinned, enjoying her surprise. "It's not like we wouldn't end up naked in there anyway."

"What about privacy though? You don't know who might be out there, watching… taking pictures."

"Liz," Max shook his head. "Don't worry about it, okay? No one's gonna be out there. It's almost dark now anyway and the pool's pretty well hidden from view. We'll be fine."

"If you say so."

She still looked a little apprehensive, so Max stopped and pressed his lips to hers once more, drawing her into a long, slow kiss, one that was filled with promises of what was to come.

"Come on," he smiled down at her when they finally parted. "Let's go have fun in the pool. I show you exactly how happy I am that you're finally living here with me."

* * *

When Liz woke up the next morning, she felt well-rested, content and rather sore… but definitely in a good way, you know, a 'I just had the most amazing night of sex ever' sort of way. Her eyes still closed, she grinned to herself as she felt the heat of Max's large, naked body lying behind her and the weight of his heavy arm wrapped around her stomach. She almost couldn't believe she was finally here in L.A. and living in his house. Well, almost living in his house… she didn't really think she could call it 'living' just yet, considered she'd only been there for 12 hours and all of her stuff was still packed in suitcases downstairs, while the rest was on a boat somewhere and wouldn't arrive for a few more weeks.

The last few weeks had been crazy for her, so it was nice to finally relax again. In general, everything had gone fairly smoothly, but there had been a couple of hiccups along the way. For some reason, it had taken UCLA ages to get the necessary immigration paperwork to her, so she hadn't been able to book her student visa interview appointment until about three weeks ago… which meant that it was a last-minute rush to get packed and book the flights. Max had finished filming in Paris two weeks ago, but had had to attend a few promotional events in Switzerland and Austria, so he hadn't been able to fly back to London to see her until last week.

He'd spent the last few days staying with her in her flat and helping her to pack up her things to move. It had been a pretty stressful week, with both packing and trying to move everything out of the flat ready for the new tenant to move in. She had arranged to store most of her furniture at her parent's house in South Gloucestershire, so three days earlier, she and Max had rented a van and taken a quick trip home to drop all the stuff off and spend some time with her Mum and Dad, before she moved to California. It had been difficult to say goodbye to them, and to Michael and Maria, but she made sure that they all had an open invitation to come and visit her and Max L.A.

The last couple of days had been both tiring and emotional but now that she was back in Los Angeles, in Max's house again, the excitement she'd initially felt regarding the move was starting to return. The school year at UCLA didn't start for another month and while Max had a few commitments he had to attend to over the next couple of weeks, he would have the majority of his time free to spend with her.

"Good morning," murmured Max sleepily just then, his rough voice bringing Liz out of her thoughts and causing her eyes to snap open.

"Mmm, morning," she whispered back with a smile as she snuggled back against his chest, enjoying the feel of his warm skin against hers.

"Sleep well?" he asked, pressing a gentle kiss to her neck.

"Like a log," she replied meaningfully. "You?"

"I slept amazingly well with you in my arms."

"Aww," her heart skipped a beat at his sweet words.

"It's true," he quipped, his mouth trailing a path down her neck to her shoulder as his hand slid up over her stomach to cup her bare breast. "I sleep so much better when you're here."

"Me too," Liz said, her eyes sliding closed in response to his caresses.

"I've missed you so much," he admitted. "I'm so glad you're here and that you decided to go to UCLA."

"Me too," she repeated, before shifting in his arms and turning to face him, looking up into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said seriously. "So, now that you're finally here in California, what do you want to do?"

"Well," she grinned, "my practical side is saying 'unpack', but–"

"We'll have plenty of time to unpack later," he reasoned. "Right now, I think we should just enjoy ourselves."

"Aww," pouted Liz, "but I won't feel settled in until I'm all unpacked."

"Fine," huffed Max in mock-annoyance, although there was a playful glint in his eye. "Go unpack then. I'll just go for a picnic up in the hills all by myself."

"Picnic in the hills?" Liz's interest was piqued now. "Like we had that afternoon back in March?"

"Maybe…" he hinted teasingly. "But if you're too busy unpacking then I guess I'll just have to go on my own."

"Well, you know, maybe I don't have to unpack right away…" she contemplated with a smile.

"Yeah?" Max's face lit up in a grin.

"Yeah," nodded Liz. "Come on then, let's get out of bed and go picnicking in the hills."

* * *

Liz's first couple of weeks in L.A. were filled with getting organised and reacquainting herself with the city. To start with it was mostly an exciting adventure; being with Max all the time after so much time spent apart and realising that she was actually living the dream: sunshine, beaches, Hollywood. However, as the beginning of the school year approached, Liz found herself becoming more and more anxious about becoming a graduate student. Logically, she knew that she had nothing to be scared of – it was only university, after all; she'd done it before. If she was honest though, it was more the thought of not having as much free time to spend with Max anymore that was really bugging her. She'd heard stories about how tough grad school could be in America and she was worried that it was going to take up practically all of her time.

Well, now she was about to find out… it was the first day of orientation and Liz was suddenly feeling scared shitless about actually going there.

"You okay?" asked Max, from behind her as she stood in front of the large walk-in closet in his room, staring at the rail of clothes hanging inside.

"I don't know what to wear," she sighed, her eyes roaming the hangers indecisively.

"Just wear what you normally do," he suggested. "It's just college… it's not like you have to wear business dress or anything."

"Well, yeah, but suddenly nothing I have seems right," she grumbled. "All my clothes are 'British' and everyone here is really causal. I don't want to make a bad impression or anything."

"You won't," he assured her. "Trust me."

Liz nodded to herself before turning around to find him standing in the doorway of the en suite bathroom wearing nothing but a towel, water dripping down his chest and making him look like a swimsuit model or something.

"Nice outfit," she murmured appreciatively.

He cocked an eyebrow, shooting her a shit-eating grin, "You like?"

"What do you think?" she grinned, moving across the room towards him. "Hmm, I wonder if we have time to–"

"No," he cut her off, holding up a hand to stop her continuing. "As much as I'd love to, I'm not going to make you late for your orientation meetings this morning." He shook his head. "I'm gonna get dressed; why don't you go take a shower and then I'll fix you some breakfast."

"Okay," nodded Liz reluctantly, coming to a stop in front of him and leaning up for a quick kiss before heading into the bathroom.

Just under an hour later, Liz was dressed and ready to go. Max had offered to drive her to the campus, but she really didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention to herself today or have their pictures end up in the tabloids again, so after a semi-heated discussion regarding her wanting to driving herself there and Max's objections to that because of the rush hour traffic and because she didn't know where she was going, she eventually agreed to let him arrange a driver for her.

However, once she arrived at the campus, the day actually ended up going much better than she'd expected and by the time she got home in the evening, Liz was feeling much better about being a grad student at UCLA. She'd met with the professors and other new students in the Biology department this afternoon and they'd all seemed very welcoming and encouraging about the work load. The classes she would be required to take this semester didn't seem like they were going to be all that difficult, but she was slightly worried about the TA part of grad school. She hadn't had any experience with teaching before and she honestly wasn't sure if she could handle it.

Max, however, disagreed and he told her so at dinner that evening.

"You'll do fine, Liz. I know you will," he said, as he placed a steaming hot plate of lasagne down in front of her before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"I guess," she shrugged, glancing down at her food. "I just… I don't know; I'm scared."

He smiled warmly at her, reaching across the table to take her hand, before admitting, "My first acting job, I was completely terrified."

"You were?" she was surprised; he always seemed so confident and sure of himself when it came to his career.

"Yeah, definitely," he nodded emphatically, as he picked up his knife and fork and began digging into the lasagne. "I was a complete mess. I had no idea what the hell I was doing and I was so intimidated by the whole process that I almost turned the car around and hightailed it out of there before I'd even made it inside the studio gates." He gave a small chuckle, "But I didn't. Instead I bottled my fears and drove in. Those first few days were a bit of a nightmare, to be honest, but after a while I got more comfortable with being in front of the camera and I really started to enjoy it."

"And you think it'll be the same for me?"

"Yeah, I think it probably will," he smiled reassuringly. "It might be tough and scary at first, but I'm sure once you get settled in, you'll be great."

"You're right," agreed Liz after a moment, taking a bite of her food. "Of course, you're right. I'm just being stupid."

"You're not being stupid," countered Max softly. "It's totally normal to be nervous in anew situation."

"I know," she nodded, before reaching for her glass of wine and taking a sip. "Okay, I'm gonna try not to think about it anymore tonight."

"Good idea," he agreed, before grinning suddenly. "Hey, how do you feel about spending the evening watching some movies in the den with me? Or if you like I could call the guys and see if they want to come over and make it a group thing."

"Well, it would be nice to catch up with them again – we haven't seen them for a few days – but you know, I kind of fancy just snuggling up on the couch with you and a tub of ice cream."

"A tub of ice cream, huh?" Max raised an eyebrow. "That has definite potential."

Liz narrowed her eyes and tried unsuccessfully not to smirk, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Movie Star. I'm talking innocent ice-cream-eating here, not whatever your dirty mind is conjuring up."

"Hey, I resent that! I do not have a dirty mind," he protested then, although the amusement in his voice was obvious.

Liz just gave him a disbelieving look.

"Well, okay, maybe I do," he backtracked then. "But no more than anyone else."

"If you say so," grinned Liz, before glancing down at their now empty plates. "Come on, let's clear these dishes away and get started on those movies and some ice cream."

_TBC…_


	31. Chapter 31

**Part Thirty-One**

It took a good couple of weeks for it to happen, but if she was honest, Liz had been expecting it earlier. She'd known it would only be a matter of time before the secret was out and it looked like her nine a.m. Biology lab in the third week of the semester was going to be the inevitable day. She had put some finishing touches to that day's topic up on the blackboard while her class worked on the lab task and now she was making the rounds of the room, checking that no one had any problems with the assignment. All was going smoothly until she passed a table occupied by two young freshman girls, Josie and Sam, who more often than not, seemed much more interested in gossiping about boys than actually getting on with their class work.

"I'm telling you, it's her," whispered Josie urgently as she pointed to something on her lap. "Look, it's so obvious."

"It is not," whispered Sam back. "No way."

"It is!" insisted Josie. "She even has the same name."

"Everything okay here, girls?" inquired Liz just then, keeping her voice neutral and focused although her ears were burning with curiosity over what the two girls had been discussing. "Any trouble with the lab today?"

"Oh no, Liz, not at all," claimed Josie with put-on wide-eyed innocence. "We're just fine."

"So, there's nothing you need help with, then?"

"No, it's all good," added Sam.

"Well, okay, then."

Liz started to turn away towards the next table, but then she heard another whisper from Josie.

"Go on, ask her."

"Um, Liz?" came Sam's timid voice a moment later.

"Yep?" she turned back to face the two girls with a smile pasted onto her face. She had an awful feeling that she knew what Sam was about to say.

"I… well, Josie and I were just wondering…" Sam started hesitantly. "Um, is this you?"

The young girl held up a magazine, open to a page containing a picture of Max… and herself… dining at a restaurant in Santa Monica. The picture must have been taken a couple of days ago when they'd spent the day together at the pier.

"Um," Liz gave a nervous laugh, wracking her brains for a way to answer that without giving too much away. "W-why would you think that?"

"Well, for a start, that woman looks just like you," cut in Josie eagerly. "Plus, her name is Liz too. That can't just be a coincidence. So come on, you gotta spill, Liz; how do you know Max Evans?"

"You know Max Evans?" came a shocked gasp from another girl, Carly, sitting a couple of tables away. "Oh my God, that's so cool!"

"You're friends with a movie star?" wondered one of the guys. "But you're from England; how did that happen?"

Liz groaned internally as suddenly the entire class came to life, having overheard the tail end of the conversation and now wanting to know the gossip.

"Okay, okay, everyone. Just calm down and I'll explain." Liz held up her hands and walked back to the front of the room. "Okay, yes, I know Max Evans. He's my boyfriend. We live together here in L.A."

"Your boyfriend?" Josie's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh my God, how did you manage that one?"

Liz couldn't help but try to hide a smile at the starstruck look on the girl's face, a look that was also now present on the majority of the faces in the room.

"I don't think you guys need all the details, okay," she said firmly. "All I can tell you is that we met when he was filming in England earlier this year and now we live here in L.A."

"Spoilsport," muttered Sam, as she and Josie exchanged rolls of their eyes.

"Maybe so," replied Liz, with a stern gaze. "But that's all you're getting out of me. Now get on with your assignments, or you'll have extra homework to contend with this week."

Thankfully the class started to settle down a couple of minutes later, and Liz let out a sigh of relief as the fascination over her and Max died down. She might have known the questions about their relationship would come eventually, but that didn't make it any easier to know how to deal with them when they actually arose. She just hoped she hadn't just opened a whole can of worms by discussing it with her class.

When she got home from school that night, she mentioned the situation to Max, but he didn't seem too worried about it. In fact, he was barely fazed by the incident at all, which was something that puzzled Liz slightly.

"Look, Liz, something like this was bound to happen eventually," he reasoned, as they relaxed outside on the patio after dinner, curled up on one of his large sun loungers, enjoying the evening sunshine. "We both knew that."

"I know," she sighed, leaning her head back against his T-shirt-clad chest. "It's just… I guess I'm just not used to so much attention yet. It would be nice to keep some things private, you know?"

"Yeah, it would be nice," agreed Max, with a hint of sadness in his tone, one that made Liz's heart ache slightly. "But that's not how it works when you're, well, me. Nothing's private anymore when you're in the media, you know that."

"I know," she repeated. "Doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"Look," he murmured, lowering his mouth to her ear, his warm breath against her skin sending shivers down her spine. "It kills me that you have to be involved in the craziness that is my life and I wish I could keep you out of it, but if we're going to be together, it's something that you're going to have to learn how to deal with too."

"Yeah," sighed Liz in resignation. "I get it. I just don't want to be seen as just 'Max Evan's girlfriend', you know?"

"I'm sorry," he replied, brushing his lips across her neck. "I know it's hard; but we'll handle it, okay? We can't let things like this come between us."

"Okay," she nodded, although she still felt a little hesitant about the whole thing.

"Look, there are plenty of celebrity couples who manage to stay out of the spotlight," reasoned Max. "We'll just have to try extra hard not to end up in the papers, okay?"

"Sure." Liz couldn't help but smile. "Although, I have a feeling that you're going to be considered hot gossip for quite a while longer… so really I don't have a choice but to suck it up and deal with the attention, now do I?"

Max chuckled at that, "I suppose not."

"I guess I just have to keep going to class every day and not let it affect me, huh?"

"Looks like," agreed Max.

"So, anyway, enough about me," Liz changed the subject then. "How was your day?"

"Not much to report," he admitted. "A couple of meetings with my agent, a long, boring phone call to my accountant… oh, and my mom called this afternoon."

"Yeah? How is she?"

"She's great," he replied with a smile. "Looking forward to meeting you, by the way."

"Really?" Liz shot him an apprehensive look. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to 'meet the parents' yet."

"What are you talking about? Of course you're ready," he countered. "With everything Mom's heard about you from your parents and from me, she's eager to get to know you in person."

"Right, okay."

"She's invited us down to Roswell for Thanksgiving," he revealed then. "What do you think? You up for it?"

"Well, apart from the all-encompassing terror I'm feeling at the thought of meeting your family, I'd say it sounds like a great idea."

"Come on," scoffed Max. "It's not like they're going to bite your head off or anything. I'll have you know that my mom and dad are very nice people. You don't have anything to be scared of, I promise."

"Well, okay then," grinned Liz, rolling her eyes at herself in embarrassment. "Let's go to Roswell for Thanksgiving."

* * *

"Are you okay?" asked Max with an amused smile as he and Liz disembarked from the small private plane that had carried them from the Albuquerque Sunport down to the small airport located just outside Roswell. "You look a little… tense."

"I'm fine," murmured Liz so softly he barely heard it, as she clasped his hand in hers suddenly.

He frowned suspiciously, "You sure? You're not worried about this, are you? Because you know that there's nothing to be worried about. It's just Thanksgiving."

"I know that… logically," she sighed, "but that still doesn't stop me from being nervous."

"They're gonna love you," he smiled, releasing his hand from hers so he could slip it around her shoulders and hug her to him, as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

Max was aware that there were a few photographers lurking around – they weren't doing as good a job of hiding themselves as they obviously thought – but at this point, he didn't care. He'd been away on a press tour on the east coast for the last couple of weeks and, as Liz couldn't take any time off from school, he'd had to leave her behind at home while he was away. It had been a tough two weeks on his part, and apparently so on hers too, from what she'd told him, so now that he was back, he was determined to spend as much time with her as possible.

"I hope so," murmured Liz, her tone apprehensive as they made their way through the small airport building and out to where a car was meeting them.

Max shot a small, sympathetic smile in her direction; he understood her uneasiness over meeting his parents. He would probably have felt the same way had he not met Liz's family before he'd met Liz herself. He also knew that while she was happy to be here in the US with him, she was also missing home quite a bit right now.

The first few weeks of the school year had been quite stressful for her as she adjusted to an unfamiliar education system and tried to juggle her classes and teaching responsibilities alongside her relationship with him, and sometimes all her emotions would just build up and spill over, causing her to break down in tears. He had tried to do his best to be there for her and help her through the adjustment and homesickness, but sometimes, like the last couple of weeks, that just hadn't been possible and although she hadn't admitted it to him, he knew that she'd had a bit of a tough time while he'd been out of state.

"Come on," he said to her as they approached the shiny black car that was waiting for them outside the terminal. "Let's go celebrate your first ever authentic Thanksgiving."

* * *

The large car came to a stop in the driveway of a relatively normal-looking home in the suburbs of Roswell and Liz let out a shaky sigh as Max thanked their driver and then opened his door and climbed out, shooting her a quick grin as he did so. He made his way around to her side of the car and opened her door in a very gentlemanly-like fashion.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Evans," she couldn't help but tease as he held out his hand to her and helped her out of the plush vehicle. "To what do I owe this sudden display of old-fashioned manners?"

"Well," he shrugged. "My mom raised me to be a gentleman… and well, I don't want to get into her bad books on my first visit back home in almost a year and a half."

"A year and a half? Really?" She was surprised that he could go that long without seeing his family.

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, as he took their bags from the driver and gave him a generous tip. "I've been busy with a lot of new projects lately."

"Yeah, I suppose you don't get much time off," she agreed with a nod.

"Exactly," he replied. "I've been working pretty much non-stop for months; it doesn't exactly leave a lot of time for family gatherings. That's why I decided not to take on another project right after Paris – I wanted to be able to spend more time with you on a regular basis."

"And I really appreciate that, Max," she told him sincerely. "I've loved being able to see you every day… well, except for the last two weeks, of course."

"I know," he told her as he began carrying their bags towards the front door of the house. "But I don't have any other trips planned in the next few weeks and I'm not filming again until the New Year, and even then, the majority of the shooting will be in L.A., so we'll have plenty of time to be together."

"Yeah," she grinned happily at him. "We will."

They came to a stop outside the Evans' door and Max reached out to ring the doorbell.

"You ready?"

She nodded, "I think so."

"Good. Here goes," he replied as the door opened to reveal an elegant-looking blonde woman in her late-50s, wearing a large, welcoming smile on her face.

"Max, you're here!" she exclaimed happily, before reaching out to give him a warm hug. "It's so good to see you." Turning her head slightly, her gaze fell on Liz, who shifted uncomfortably beside Max, "Oh, and this must be Liz! It's wonderful to finally meet you, dear. I'm Diane. Your mom has told me so much about you over the years… oh, and Max has spoken of you quite a bit, of course."

Liz managed a small, self-conscious smile as Diane Evans pulled her into a tight hug, before gesturing for them to step inside the house.

"Come in, come in," she insisted, "we can't have you standing out there in the cold all day."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Evans," murmured Liz softly as Max ushered her inside ahead of himself.

"Oh, please, it's Diane," insisted Mrs. Evans, placing a motherly arm around Liz's shoulders and guiding her towards the living room. "'Mrs. Evans' makes me sound old!"

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Liz shot Max a panicked look back over her shoulder, but he simply shrugged and grinned, before nodding towards the stairs and heading up with their bags.

"So, sweetie, how are Nancy and Jeff doing?" continued Diane. "I haven't spoken to your mom in a few weeks."

"Oh, they're great, thanks, Diane," replied Liz nervously as Max's mum gestured towards a large comfortable couch in the comfortable living room and she took a seat.

"Nancy and I were so pleased when you two kids got together," said Diane with a warm, motherly smile. "A match made in heaven."

"I don't know that I'd go that far," murmured Liz, "but, yeah, we definitely hit it off."

"You make a lovely couple," Diane assured her. "Anyway, can I get you something to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"

"Tea would be great, thanks," nodded Liz.

"Lovely," she smiled. "I'll just go and put a pot on. Make yourself comfortable; I'm sure Max will be back downstairs in a minute and I'm sure my husband, Phillip, is around here somewhere too."

"Okay, thanks."

Diane left the room and Liz took the opportunity to take in her surroundings more fully. The Evans' home was just like any other family home really, nothing out of the ordinary at all. Liz wasn't sure exactly what she'd been expecting, to be honest, but judging by the size and splendour of Max's house in L.A., she'd imagined that his parents might live in a similar sort of luxury. Obviously this was not the case though, but Liz actually found she was glad of that. After the months of expensive hotels, restaurants and cars that she'd experienced with Max, it was nice just to be in a normal setting. It reminded her that Max had once been just a normal kid, like everyone else.

She smiled when she made her way over to the mantelpiece and noticed the photographs placed there. One was a picture of Max, Michael and Isabel Ramirez together on a beach of some kind. Liz couldn't tell where it was taken, but she was guessing it was a few years old. The next photo was family portrait of Max with his parents at his high school graduation. He looked so much younger in it and she had to grin. Obviously he hadn't started working out or got a stylist until after he'd moved to L.A.; the Max in the photo was tall and lanky, with black-rimmed glasses and an unflattering side-part in his hair.

"Uh, yeah, not one of my best photos," came his voice behind her suddenly and Liz jumped in surprise, twirling around to see him standing just a couple of feet away.

"Shit, you scared me!" she exclaimed breathlessly, feeling like she'd just been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"You okay?" he asked in amusement. "Sorry to leave you alone with her just now."

"Yeah, I bet you are," Liz narrowed her eyes suspiciously; he didn't look all that apologetic. "But I'm fine. She seems nice."

"She's great," he smiled softly. "So, what do you think of my humble abode? Fancy taking the grand tour?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Come on, then," he said, holding out his hand.

Pending cup of tea forgotten, she took it and he led her out of the living room to show her around the rest of the house.

The 'grand tour' only took a total of about ten minutes, but Liz learned a lot about Max and his upbringing in that time. The most interesting part was the tour of his old bedroom… the room that they would be occupying for the next few days. It looked like it had barely been touched since he was a teenager and Liz was pleased to find that his interests back then had been surprisingly similar to hers when she was in high school. In fact, they probably could have been good friends if they'd known each other back then.

"Wow, I just had a random thought," she murmured as they exited his bedroom and started to head back down to the living room. "If my parents had never moved back to England, we probably would have grown up here together."

Max stopped walking, looking taken aback for a second, but then his expression relaxed and he grinned, "Yeah, we probably would have."

"Do you think we would have been friends?"

"Yeah, I do," he smiled, reaching out to run his thumb down over her cheek, before moving closer and murmuring, "In fact, I think we would have eventually been more than just friends."

"Really?" Liz smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up in response to Max's proximity to her.

"Yeah," he whispered, his lips moving closer and closer to hers and eventually capturing them in a slow, gentle kiss. "Come on, let's go find my parents."

By the time they made it back downstairs, they could hear Diane and Phillip talking in the kitchen and so they headed that way instead of into the living room. After introductions were made again, the four of them settled into an easy conversation. Liz offered to help Diane with the cooking, while Max and Phillip sat at the kitchen table, discussing Max's investments and a situation he was working through with his lawyers.

"Okay," announced Diane about twenty minutes later, "I think we're almost set for dinner. We just have to wait for our guests to arrive and then we can eat."

"Guests?" wondered Max, averting his attention from the conversation with his father to focus on Diane. "You didn't mention any guests."

"Just some old friends," she assured him with a smile. "No need to worry."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Diane left the room to answer it. Liz could hear muffled voices coming from the hallway, but she couldn't make out anything more. A couple of minutes later though, Diane re-entered the kitchen, with three guests in tow. Liz's eyes widened when she recognised the first one.

"Isabel?" Max spoke first, standing from the table and giving the newcomers a wide smile. "I didn't know you were coming home for Thanksgiving. It's lovely to see you again, Mr. And Mrs. Ramirez."

"Hey, Max," nodded Isabel with a smile. "Hi, Liz. Yeah, I didn't know myself until yesterday. I was supposed to be flying up to San Francisco this weekend, but the trip got cancelled at the last minute, so here I am instead."

"It's good to see you again, Isabel," greeted Phillip, standing up to shake her hand. "Glad you could make it, Sophia, Ben."

"Liz, I'd like you to meet my parents," announced Isabel then. "My mom, Sophia and my dad, Ben." She gestured to each of them in turn. "Mom, Dad, this is Liz Parker, Max's girlfriend."

"It's lovely to meet you, Liz," Sophia Ramirez smiled warmly, reaching out to shake Liz's hand. "We've heard a lot about you from Diane and Phillip."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"So, is this everyone? Can we eat now?" wondered Max then. "'Cause I'm getting' hungry."

"Patience, Max," Diane rolled her eyes at Liz, and Liz giggled in response. "Honestly, you're just the same as in high school: controlled by your appetite. And no, this isn't everyone; there are still four more to arrive."

The doorbell didn't ring again for several more minutes, by which time the seven of them were seated in the living room with glasses of wine. This time, Phillip got up to answer the door, as Diane was engaged in conversation with Isabel and Sophia about the wardrobe for her latest film and Liz and Max were chatting to Ben about the differences between US and UK food. However, Liz's attention was immediately diverted towards the hallway when she heard an unmistakably familiar voice coming from the front door. Her eyes widened in shock and her gaze snapped to Max's who had apparently heard the voice as well.

"It can't be," she murmured softly, almost to herself and she stood up as Phillip returned to the living room.

"Lizzie! Oh my God!" came the excited voice of her best friend as she barrelled into the room, followed closely by Michael and two older people, who she could only assume were his parents. "It's so good to see you again."

"Maria?" managed Liz as she found herself swept up into a tight hug. "I can't believe… what are you doing here?"

"Well," grinned Maria, when she finally pulled away. "Michael's parents wanted us to come home for Thanksgiving, but he didn't think he could take the time off from uni to fly out here. Then, when Diane called him too and told him that you and Max would be visiting for the holiday too, I kind of persuaded him to come. So, anyway, how are you? How's L.A. life been treating you?"

"It's good, Maria; it really is," replied Liz, shooting Max a smile, which he returned briefly before turning to greet Michael. "It's great being with Max again."

"Yeah, I bet it is," muttered Maria, with a smirk.

"And UCLA is good too. Well, it's hard work, but it's good. My students all know about Max now though," she chuckled softly. "For the first couple of weeks after they found out, they could hardly stop asking me about him, but it's settled down a bit now."

"Well, I would just like to say that I think California is definitely agreeing with you," declared Maria. "You look really healthy, all tanned and everything."

"Thanks, Maria," grinned Liz. "You don't look too shabby yourself though. Is that a new haircut?"

"Yeah, you like?"

Liz and Maria continued to catch up until Diane announced that it was time for dinner. Everyone filed into the dining room and took their seats, while Diane and Phillip began bringing in various plates of food. Thanksgiving dinner certainly was a special event, decided Liz, as she tucked into the delicious meal. The atmosphere in the Evans' house was warm and welcoming and she felt right at home with Max and his family and friends. Despite the absence of her own parents, the whole day was a wonderful experience; one that she definitely wanted to repeat in the future.

_TBC…_


	32. Chapter 32

**Part Thirty-Two**

After the trip to Roswell for Thanksgiving, the weeks running up to Christmas passed quickly for Liz, as she tried to juggle her own school work with organising finals and grading homework assignments for her students. Some days she had found herself staying in her office in the Biology department until gone seven o'clock in the evening, something that Max hadn't been too happy about, considering that he didn't have any projects to work on at the moment and had tried to make himself as available as possible to spend time with her. With him complaining about the lack of time they'd managed to spend together lately and all the pressure on her to get good grades and keep up with the demands of being a TA, the closer it got to the end of the semester, the more stressed Liz became, until one Friday night in early December, just before finals were due to begin, she couldn't take it anymore.

The day had started off badly, due to her alarm not going off on time, which made her late getting to campus, and it only got worse when her professors piled on the study materials and revision sessions, and by the time Liz was able to leave her office and head home, she was exhausted.

"Hey, I'm home," she called to Max, as she let herself in through the front door and placed her bags down in the foyer.

"In the kitchen," came his muffled voice from down the corridor.

With a smile, Liz made her way through the large house, walking in the direction of his voice, but she stopped dead in the kitchen doorway when she saw him sitting at the table, his arms folded across his chest and an impatient frown marring his normally open and friendly features.

"Hey," she murmured in puzzlement. "What's wrong?"

"You're home late," he stated, his expression remaining unchanged. "Again."

"I know, I'm sorry," Liz sighed, shaking her head as she made her way over to him. "Long day."

She moved to loop her arms around his neck from behind, but her fingers barely touched the fabric of his shirt before he shrugged off the gesture and stood up, turning to face her. Liz couldn't stop the feeling of hurt that spread through her at his rejection and she was sure that it showed on her face.

"What's going on, Max?"

He sighed heavily, his expression serious, "You said you'd be home by six tonight, Liz, and now it's almost eight o'clock."

"I know I did," she replied, "but it was one thing after another today and I couldn't get away any sooner."

"That's what you said last night, and the night before," he reminded her.

"Well, it's the truth," she told him. "I have work that has to be done and studying I have to do for finals, and sometimes I have to stay late. I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't really have a choice."

"I understand that," he nodded tersely, "but you promised that today you'd be home earlier."

"I know I did," she sighed heavily. "And I tried my best, I really did, but if I want to pass my finals next week, I need to put some extra time in." She frowned then, "I know it's not the best scenario, but you've been okay about this every other night; what's so special about this one?"

"Because, Liz," he closed his eyes briefly as he exhaled slowly, "tonight I booked us a table at Cicada. You know, the restaurant you've been dying to go to ever since you read that review in the _LA Times_?"

"Really?" Liz's eyes widened in surprise. "We're going to Cicada?"

"No, we _were_ going to Cicada," he corrected. "I know you've been stressed lately and I wanted us to have a nice, relaxing, romantic evenings; but the table was booked for seven-thirty and now we've missed it because you weren't here."

"Oh, God, I'm sorry, Max!" she exclaimed apologetically, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have tried to get home earlier."

"It was supposed to be a surprise," he responded pointedly. "And since you said you'd be home early today, I didn't think it would be a problem."

"Shit, Max," sighed Liz, taking a step closer to him. "I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged noncommittally. "It's done now."

"It's just…" she exhaled heavily, sinking down onto the chair he'd vacated a few moments ago. "…well, everything's so hard at the moment. I'm getting kinda swamped with all this school work and it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done." She looked up at him; his stance was still tense with annoyance, but his expression had softened slightly. "I want to spend more time with you, I really do, but this grad school thing is turning out to be much harder than I thought it would be and I'm struggling to cope with it all."

"Oh, Lizzie," murmured Max softly, as he took a seat beside her at the table and reached out to take her hand in his. "I'm sorry for getting pissed off just now. I guess when you came over here, I just didn't realise how much of your time was going to be taken up with school."

Liz just nodded, as she felt a lump in her throat and tears beginning to swell up in her eyes.

Max looked at her in concern, "Is it really that bad?"

She shook her head, trying to compose herself before the tears started to fall, but it was no good; all of the emotions that had been building up inside her for the last few days came tumbling out.

"I don't know what to do, Max," she cried, a small sob escaping her lips. "There's so much pressure to do well and not enough time to get all the work done. I don't know if I can do it much longer."

"Hey, hey, come here," he said gently, moving closer and pulling her into his arms. "It's gonna be okay."

His soothing words were all it took for Liz to let go. She collapsed against his chest, giving into her tears as she let out all the bottled-up emotions that had been building inside her the last couple of weeks.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Max," she murmured, between sobs. "I want to be with you, but it's hard to adjust to everything; grad school isn't how I thought it would be, and apart from you, I don't really have anyone here."

"Oh, Liz…" said Max gently, his grip tightening around her. "I'm sorry."

"I miss home," she admitted then, fresh tears sliding down her face. "I miss London, I miss my family, and Maria and Michael."

"I know," he comforted. "I know it must be hard for you, but I'm here to help you. You'll get through this, okay?"

"I just… I feel wrong, Max. Like my world has gone all off-balance and I can't quite make it right."

"Look," said Max, pulling back and lifting his hand to her cheek as he looked down into her eyes. "What you're feeling is normal, okay? It's a big adjustment to move so far from home, especially to a new country. I felt the same way when I first moved out here to L.A. and even though I've been here for several years now, the only place that really feels like home to me is Roswell."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded, giving her a gentle smile. "Look, I have an idea. After you've finished your finals and school lets out, how would you feel about spending Christmas in England?"

"What?" Liz wondered in surprise, her heart skipping a beat at his words. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, really," Max nodded, smiling widely. "You can go home, see your parents, catch up with your friends… whatever you want to do."

"I'd love that," she replied, straightening quickly and wrapping her arms around his neck. "It would mean so much to me. Thank you."

She pressed her lips to his, pouring all of her emotions into the kiss as she held onto him tightly.

"No need to thank me," he told her softly when they parted. "I would do anything to make you happy."

"Don't," she shook her head, giving him a watery smile. "You're gonna make me cry all over again."

"But they'd be happy tears, right?" he looked down at her for confirmation, an eyebrow raised in question.

Liz simply nodded in response, not trusting her voice to remain steady right now and Max shot her a grin.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Max."

* * *

So, just two and a half weeks later, Liz found herself on a plane with Max, flying first-class from Los Angeles to London. It was only three days before Christmas now and the closer she got to home, the more festive she started feeling. Despite all the decorations and the carols playing everywhere, she'd found it difficult to get into the Christmas spirit in California and she blamed it on the weather… to Liz, Christmas was about cold, frosty mornings, seeing your breath in front of you when you went outside in your thick coat, gloves and scarf and curling up in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate. However, Christmas time in Southern California was pretty much lacking in all of these things; for one, the temperature was still in the 60's in L.A. – a good 25 degrees warmer than London would be when they landed in a few hours and there. You couldn't really do the 'snuggling up in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate' thing very well when outside it was as warm as London in August!

Unfortunately, though, Liz had a slightly different opinion of the cold English weather when they finally landed at Heathrow and made their way out to their car, through the crowd of reporters and paparazzi who had congregated in the terminal when they heard that 'Max Evans and his girlfriend' were arriving that morning. The air outside was bitingly cold and Liz began shivering as soon as she stepped out of the warm building, suddenly wishing she'd worn a thicker jacket today. Beside her, she saw Max glance at her in concern, but she just shook her head and, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm, she headed straight for the car that was waiting for them and climbed inside. Max followed shortly afterwards, having helped the driver load their luggage into the back, and he immediately pulled her to his side as they relaxed back against the comfortable seats.

"Tired?" he murmured when Liz yawned loudly and let her head rest against his chest.

"Uh huh," she mumbled, her eyes drifting closed, despite the fact that she knew she should try to stay awake to get over the jetlag. "Glad to be home too, though."

"Yeah."

The journey to their London hotel was spent in comfortable silence as both Max and Liz tried not to give in to exhaustion. Originally, Nancy and Jeff had offered to pick them up from the airport and Liz had been keen on that idea; however, Max had pointed out that it would be best for them to arrive in as low-key a fashion as possible, due to the media attention they were bound to accumulate on their trip and instead he'd suggested that they spend the night in London first, before travelling over to her parent's house South Gloucestershire the next day. Plus, he'd reasoned, it would give her a chance to catch up with Maria and Michael again before they left London.

When they reached the hotel, Liz's first priority was to hop onto the large, comfortable bed in their room and call Maria from her UK mobile phone. She could see Max playfully rolling his eyes at her as she chatted to her friend and arranged to meet with her and Michael for lunch tomorrow, before he headed towards the bathroom to freshen up. Liz's eyes followed him as he gave her a grin and then disappeared through the bathroom door, and as soon as she could, she got off the phone with Maria and then headed after him.

"Hey," she murmured, leaning against the doorframe as she watched him remove his shirt to reveal the taught, defined muscles of his torso. Her hungry gaze involuntarily drifted down his chest and over his stomach, and it would have gone lower if his low chuckle hadn't snapped her out of her daze.

"I thought you were tired," grinned Max, as she licked her lips and moved towards him.

"And I thought we were supposed to stay awake for as possible," she countered. "What better way to stay awake than to, I don't know… share a shower?"

"A shower, huh?" Max raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the pristine walk-in shower in the corner of the room. "I think I could just about manage a shower."

"Well, all right then," grinned Liz as she pulled her shirt over her head and stepped closer to him. "Come on, let's go."

She couldn't help but let out a small giggle as his now-heated gaze dropped from her face and skimmed down over her bra-clad chest. His hands came up to rest on her hips and he pulled her close to kiss her deeply, as Liz reached for the button on his jeans. They undressed each other eagerly as Max backed her towards the shower and then reached out to turn the water on. Liz slid her arms around his neck, tugging him to her and kissing him hungrily as they stepped under the hot spray of water. Pressing her against the cool tiles of the shower walls, Max explored her body with his hands, cupping her breasts in his palms and then running his thumbs across her nipples, before tracing gentle patterns down over her ribs and stomach. His right hand came down to the back of her thigh and hiked her leg up over his hip, his mouth swallowing her aroused gasp as she felt his arousal pressing against her intimately. Breaking their kiss for a moment, Max lifted his head, his smoldering gaze boring down into her eyes as he gave her a small smile.

"I love you," he murmured roughly, before pushing into her, making her gasp with pleasure in response.

"Love… you… too," she managed between small sighs and moans as he moved within her.

Liz let her hands roam across Max wet, naked skin, savouring everything about this moment as they made love in the steamy shower. Suddenly, all the worry and stress that she'd been trying to deal with over the last few weeks didn't matter anymore. Everything she was going through now really was worth it to be with Max on a more permanent basis. Over the last few months, he'd gone from being a guy she loved spending time with–who just happened to be great in bed too–to being completely and totally in love with the most amazing man on the planet, and she wished she could just stay with him like this forever.

* * *

Max couldn't help but grin with contentment as he glanced over at Liz, who was asleep in the passenger seat of the rental car they'd hired to drive to her parents' house. Despite each of them getting over twelve hours of sleep the night before, he knew that the pressure of finals and all her schoolwork had really taken it out of her lately, so it wasn't surprising that she was still exhausted. He didn't really mind that she was asleep right now though, as the quiet gave him some time to think.

They had almost reached the Parkers' house when Liz eventually woke, stretching lazily and letting out a loud yawn before opening her eyes to look at Max with a sleepy smile.

"Good evening, sleepyhead," he grinned. "Good sleep?"

"Yeah," she nodded, before wincing and lifting a hand to the back of her neck. "Except my neck is really sore now."

"Come here," suggested Max, holding the wheel with one hand as he raised the other to her neck and began kneading her stiff muscles.

"That feels good," she murmured in response, her eyes sliding closed as she relaxed into his touch.

"We're almost there," he told her a few minutes later. "You can relax properly soon."

"Mmm," she sighed. "Looking forward to it."

He shot her a smile, before sliding his hand from her neck and placing it back on the steering wheel again as he exited the motorway and began navigating the car towards Liz's home town.

"So, remind me again what our plans are for the next few days?" he asked.

Liz moved her head from side to side a couple of times, as she replied, "Well, tonight, I said I'd meet everyone at the pub–you're welcome to join us too, if you'd like–then tomorrow it'll be the usual preparations for Christmas…. I've got to bake the Yule Log again." She smirked and Max grinned, remembering last year's Yule Log baking experience very well. "Then we're heading to the outdoor ice rink again in the evening."

"Sounds great," agreed Max. "Very reminiscent of last Christmas, huh?"

"Yep," nodded Liz enthusiastically, her sore neck apparently forgotten for the moment. "I like to stick to tradition at Christmas."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it," he decided, grinning inwardly as he thought about what the next couple of days would entail.

"Me too."

They reached Liz's family home a few minutes later and as he parked the car outside, Max looked up at the familiar house with a feeling of nostalgia as he recalled that it had been exactly a year ago that he'd first met Nancy and Jeff… and Liz.

* * *

The next twenty-four hours pretty much flew by as Liz found herself overwhelmed by being back home – first her parents pulled her into a huge three-way hug and then insisted she tell them all about life in L.A. over dinner. After dinner, she and Max headed out to the pub to catch up with Serena, Kyle and Alex over a few drinks. She'd been slightly worried that Max might attract too much attention, but it turned out that hardly anyone even batted an eyelid. He was approached by a couple of teenagers having dinner with their parents at the pub, but luckily they had been placated with an autograph and a photo with him and after that they left him alone.

The next morning, Nancy and Jeff headed out to do some last minute Christmas shopping, leaving Max and Liz alone in the house. They started off the day with a lazy lie-in, still trying to sleep off the rest of their jetlag, before Max headed to the bathroom to shower, while Liz made him a traditional English breakfast, which they ate in front of the TV in the living room. After breakfast, Liz took the opportunity to shower as well, before heading back down to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for the Yule Log. Max joined her in the kitchen a few minutes later and offered to help her out with the baking… needless to say though, it took much longer than it should have to finish, and by the time it was in the oven, the kitchen was a complete mess and Max and Liz weren't much cleaner either!

They spent the afternoon relaxing around the house, before heading upstairs to get ready for ice skating around 7 p.m. As they walked to the rink together thirty minutes later, Liz found herself glancing over at Max curiously on more than one occasion; something was off with him tonight: he seemed quieter than usual, almost jittery, as they walked.

"What?" he questioned, somewhat uncomfortably when he caught her watching him on one of those times.

"Nothing," she denied. "It's just… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"

Liz frowned, "I don't know – you tell me."

"I'm great, Liz. Honest," he smiled, slipping his arm around her shoulder as they walked. "Come on, we're almost there."

Liz still felt a little confused by his behaviour, but she shrugged it off and continued walking with him. It was only when they rounded the corner and reached the location of the rink that she knew for sure that something was up. For a start, there was no one on the ice at all, despite the fact that the rink was brightly lit and definitely open. Then, a glance towards the ticket booth showed a large sign stating 'Rink Closed for Private Party', which confused Liz even more: it was Christmas Eve and the rink should be heaving, so why would they close it for a private party and risk losing out on all that money?

"Max?" she turned to him questioningly. "What's going on?"

"I don't know what you mean," he claimed innocently, although she wasn't entirely convinced. "Come on, let's go get some skates on."

"But… it says they're closed for a private party," she protested, as he started leading her towards the skate hire area.

"I know," he shot her a grin. "_We're_ the private party."

"What? No," she shook her head in denial. "We can't be."

"We are," he chuckled as they reached the skate booth and began removing their shoes.

"But… how?" she wondered in amazement, handing her shoes to the clerk and requesting her size in skating boots.

"I called in a favour," he confessed with a shrug. "You know, it's amazing what people will do for you when you're a movie star."

Liz couldn't help but give an amused scoff, "I can't believe you did this."

"You don't like it?"

"No, I do," she said quickly, taking her skates from the clerk and sitting down to put them on. "It just seems a bit… much, that's all."

"Liz," smiled Max, grabbing his skates too and taking a seat beside her. "Just relax and accept that I wanted to do this for you, okay?"

"Okay," she rolled her eyes at herself and shot him a smile.

She quickly laced up her skates and stood up as she waited for Max to finish his. When he stood up too, he took her hand and led her over to the empty ice rink. The ice was smooth and clean, having not been used yet this evening, and Liz couldn't help the excited smile that spread across her face at the thought of having the entire rink all to themselves this evening.

"You ready?" Max asked from beside her.

"Yep."

They stepped out onto the ice and almost immediately Liz let her hand slip out of his and, letting her instincts take over, began skating across the slightly slippery ice. It was only when she heard Max clear his throat from behind her and she turned to see him standing unsteadily at the side of the rink, his hand grasping the barrier tightly, that she realised she'd abandoned him. Quickly, she skated back over to him with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, didn't mean to leave you here."

"S'okay," he smiled. "I'm just not that great on ice skates."

"I remember," she smiled, remembering how he'd practically crashed right into her on the rink last Christmas, before holding out her hand to him. "Come on, we'll go round together."

Max took her hand and she carefully led him further onto the rink, allowing him to adjust to the unfamiliar feeling of balancing on just two thin blades. It took a few minutes, but soon Max was moving across the ice with a little more ease and a lot more confidence. They skated for about twenty minutes, mostly together, but a couple of times Liz skated a couple of laps on her own, just enjoying the feel of the cold wind flowing through her hair as she moved faster than skating with Max would allow. After one of her laps though, Max motioned for her to join him in the centre of the rink. With a nod, she headed towards him, but misjudged the distance slightly and instead of coming to a graceful stop in front of Max, she went ploughing into him, knocking both of them to the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," she gasped apologetically as she scrambled to stand up again, before reaching out her hand to help him up too.

"Don't," he shook his head, not taking her hand, as he shot a quick glance towards the ticket booth area.

"What?" Liz frowned in puzzlement; didn't he want her to help him up?

She saw him open his mouth, but before he could say anything, the rink's glaring floodlights suddenly shut off and several strings of Christmas lights lit up instead, bathing them both in a multitude of soft colours.

"Max?" she wondered curiously, gazing around her at the breathtaking display. "What's going on?"

He just gave her a soft smile, before clambering slightly ungracefully to his knees and reaching for her hand.

"Liz, it's been exactly a year since I first laid eyes on you and my life hasn't been the same since," he started softly, his thumb gently grazing her hand, sending shivers down her spine. "The last thing I ever expected was to fall in love with you, but I did, and now I can't imagine what my life would be without you in it."

"Oh my God," murmured Liz, her eyes widening in realisation at what he was about to say to her.

"I love you so much, more than I ever thought it was possible to love one person," he told her earnestly, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small, black box, opening it up to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring she'd even seen in her life. "Liz Parker, will you marry me?"

"Max…" she breathed in awe. "I… um… wow! I don't know what to say."

"Well, you know, a 'yes' would be nice," he gave her a nervous half-smile.

"Oh my God, yes!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Definitely yes."

"Really?" His small smile widened into a grin as she nodded and he exhaled in relief. "Oh, thank God."

Liz grinned happily as she kneeled down on the ice in front of him, flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. She felt his arms come around her and he hugged her to him tightly. However, just a few moments later, they were interrupted by the sound of clapping and Liz lifted her head to find the ice rink staff watching them from the side of the rink.

"Um," she whispered, embarrassed. "We have company."

"I don't care," he grinned, moving to kiss her again.

"I do," she responded. "Maybe we should get out of here… go somewhere more private?"

"Sounds like a plan," he replied after a moment. "But first, I need to give you this."

He removed his arms from her waist and reached into the small jewellery box, extracting the sparkling ring. With a grin, Liz held out her left hand and watched in a slight state of shock as he slid it onto her finger and kissed her again.

As they walked home arm-in-arm a few minutes later, Liz couldn't keep the wide smile off her face. It was Christmas, she was at home with her family and friends, and she was engaged to the most gorgeous man on the planet.

Life was perfect.

_**End**_


End file.
